


Not Quite Tangled

by iMusicalMinji



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Chell as Repunzal, Disney rewrite, F/M, Fantasy AU, GLaDOS as Mother Gothel, Singing, Wheatley as Flyn, talking chell, tangled
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-12
Updated: 2013-12-16
Packaged: 2018-01-04 11:16:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1080367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iMusicalMinji/pseuds/iMusicalMinji
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The abnormally smart Princess Chell has spent her entire life in a tower, but now that a moronic detective has stumbled upon her, she is about to discover the world for the first time, and who she really is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> If you make art for this, send it to me at imusicalminji.tumblr.com and I will post it in the part of the story it belongs. Or even the music. If you sing I will try to insert it.

This is the story of how the moron known as Wheatley died. Don't panic, this actually isn't a tragedy at all and is in fact rather amusing. Plus, it really isn't entirely his story. Most of this story belongs to a girl named  Chell , and it all started with an invention.

Once upon a time, there was a man who craved eternal youth. He was a well established man and was actually the king of a small island nation called Aperture, but as fate would have it, the man became very ill. So he ordered his faithful servants to quickly invent another body for him so that he could continue living. The servants, however, was unable to build his new body quick enough  and the man died. The man's nephew and wife mourned his death but the servants rejoiced. The man had wrote in his will that if the body could not be finished in time for him, that he wanted his wife to be placed into it so she may rule in his stead, forever. The women did not want to rule forever and had fought the servants off the best she could, but soon she was cornered and was forced in the body of the robotic monster known as the genetic  lifeform  and disk operating system. With the last bit of conscience she had over the monstrous creature that she was forced to live in, she rigged all of the inventions in the palace to only work when the princess would sing.  The Queen lost control over herself and gained the conscience of another,  GLaDOS .  GLaDOS  murdered most of the palace guards. Just as the she was about to kill the women's infant child( Here's some info, you see that cute little baby with the dark hair, a light tan, and bright eyes? That's  Chell ) , something stopped her, and in a panicked instant, she kidnapped the child and fled from the kingdom... leaving it to the king's nephew to rule... alone...  

The new king sent many guards, soldiers, knights, and other noble and skilled men and women to find the princess to return her home safely, but no one that went out in search ever came back alive. Deep within the forest, hidden by cliffs and protected by camouflaged turrets,  GLaDOS  raised the child as a test subject to her experiments. As the child would sing her songs to  GLaDOS  as she completed her assigned challenges, something would warm in  GLaDOS ' chest and she hated that warm happy feeling..

On the rare nights in which  GLaDOS  would spend the night with the child, the young girl would also ask so politely and quietly. " GLaDOS , why is it that I am not allowed outside?" 

GLaDOS  herself really didn't know the entire reason behind her entrapment of the young princess but she would always reply, "If you were to leave, where would you go? You have no family or friends outside of this tower, and the outside world is full of horrible, dangerous, selfish, and crazy people. No one will look twice at you. No one will care for you. Here, I keep you fed and warm. You have no reason to leave, and if you do, you are sure to die. I am keeping you here for your own safety. Do you understand?" 

The girl would always look up to GLaDOS sadly, because she knew  some  of what she had said was true. "I do.."

The walls of the tower, and the cliffs that hide it so well, still could not keep everything from the outside world out. Every year on the day the Queen had died and the monster was created, which was also the princess' birthday, the new king would throw thousands and thousands of drawings into the night wind, hoping that one would land in the princess' possession so that they may help her return home. Despite collecting these drawings whenever she could, the poor young princess never understood their meaning. She instead hung them around her tower to make it less boring, which was one the first thing she ever did that  GLaDOS  disapproved of. 


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you make art for this, send it to me at imusicalminji.tumblr.com and I will post it in the part of the story it belongs. Or even the music. If you sing I will try to insert it.

A teenage girl ran up the fifty-fourth flight of stairs panting heavily with a gun like machine in her hands. She breathed a deep sigh of relief when she finally entered her room and dropped the gun on a small dresser next to a mirror. She glanced in the mirror and pouted a little, and adjusted her medium length black hair. Her frown deepened as her hair wouldn't rest the way she wanted it to on her shoulders. Taking a hair tie from the dresser, she simply tied her unruly hair into a pony tail and settled for that. 

A cheerful chirp greeted her and she spun around happily to greet the noise. A small purple martin sat at her window still and looked at her, the feathers on it's chest barely moved as it breathed quickly as birds did. She ran to greet the animal and stopped before it, her smile growing even wider on her face. If the bird was able to smile, she guessed it would be smiling too. The purple martin leaned in and peaked the girl on the nose gently, earning a quiet giggle from her. It then began to look outside, then back to the girl. She frown and shook her head. 

"You know I can't do that Mora! Who would finish the testing if I leave?" she whispered the last bits to the bird. Mora just sat there and looked at the girl. "It's not so bad in here Mora, at least I have all the things here to live." 

The girl looked around her room, glancing at each of the many drawings that lined her room. She walked away from Mora and the window and picked up the gun like contraption. Adjusting it in her grip, she began to sing.

 " **_ Seven a.m., the usual morning lineup. Start the first test  and avoid the water because it's green _ ** **_,_** " she walked slowly toward the door to the stairway. 

" **_ Polish and wax the first chamber till the blood's gone. Test again, and by then it'll be seven-fifteen ? _ ** " She sighed and began down the staircase. 

" **_ And so I'll read a book or maybe two or three? I'll pin up a new drawing  to my gallery. I'll play with the portal gun and eat and basically, just wonder when will my life begin? _ ** "  Her song grew to describe her normal daily routine.

 " **_Then after lunch it's puzzles and tests and jumping.  Fixing my boots, a bit of music like jazz_** ,"  She smiled as she began to jog to her first test chamber. 

" **_ Some funnels and light bridges, feet are aching. Then I'll stretch, maybe rest, throw a cube, leave it as... _ ** " She finished the test in record time, her song continuing.

 " **_ And I'll re-read the books if I have time to spare. I'll post more pictures up, I'm sure there's room somewhere.. _ ** "  She left the chamber and began to run. 

" **_ And then I'll climb and climb and climb and climb the stairs.. _ ** "  She made sure her breathing stayed steady as she continued to sing. 

" **_ Stuck in the same place I've always been, and I'll keep wondering and wondering and wondering and wondering... _ ** "  with a twirl around her room she sighed " **_ When will my life begin? _ ** "

She looked back to the window, where Mora still sat. The bird titled it's head as the girl walked closer to the window. " **_ Tomorrow night, the paper will appear, Just like it does on my birthday each year.... What is it like? Out there where they blow? _ ** "  She looked at the bird sadly, as she sat down. " **_ Now that I'm older,  GLaDOS  might just let me go... _ ** "  She finished her song with a sad sigh and patted the bird gently.

01010101010101010101010101010101010

" Woow .. No matter how many times I look at this castle, I just can't get over how bloody massive it is," A young man said as he just stared up at the marble structure before him. 

He swiped some of his auburn hair out of the front of his bright blue eyes to get an even better look at the castle. "Detective Wheatley, sir?" a guard questioned.

Wheatley looked over, his dimpled smiled fading and he coughed a bit in embarrassment. "Right  right , I'm coming" he muttered, trying his best to sound professional. 

He fallowed the guard into the castle and adjusted his tie as another attempt at looking more professional. He walked passed all the paintings of the old kind and queen and even a rushed half finished painting of the infant princess. More expensive works of art and glassware passed his vision before he came into the throne room. There sat the king, his hair wild and his face held a firm frown under his scruffy beard. His clothes were loose on his skinny body and Wheatley couldn't help but feel incredibly sorry for the king. He had suffered all his life with mental difficulty and those worsened at the incident that happened almost eighteen years ago. 

Next to the king sat the throne that used to belong to the Queen, and on that seat was the crown that belonged to the missing princess. It's gems and gold sparkled in the faint light that the stain glass windows brought into the room. The king began to drum his fingers against the armrest of his chair with mild annoyance, obviously waiting for something. Nervously Wheatley began " Uhh .. Well, you see your majesty, I uh.." 

The king stopped his drumming and just stared at Wheatley with a lifted brow. "I would be.. uh... credibly honored.. sir... s-sire! If you would l-let me...  workonthecaseofthemissingprincess !" he finished with a rushed huff of breath and looked at the king with anxious eyes. 

The tired eyes of the king looked down at him with sadness but a light smile traced his face and he waved his hand with approval. Wheatley smiled widely has guards pooled into  the chamber and began handing the young detective folders and folders of information and Wheatley struggled to put all the paperwork into his bag in time. He bowed to the king and began his way out of the castle, calmly at first but after he was out of the king's sight, he broke out into a full sprint to his horse.  "Rick! I got the job! I can't believe this! At first I was really  really  nervous and I couldn't believe my eyes when the king, the bloody KING! Of all people, he approved of my idea, he gave me all this paperwork for the case and he  he , he thinks I can do it, Rick! RICK! HE THINKS I CAN DO IT!" He cheered as he hugged the face of the brown stallion.

 The green eyed horse just nipped at Wheatley's chest, making the young man yelp. "Oh, right, right, don't like the hugging" he laughed nervously as he mounted his stead with slight difficulty and they began to charge off toward the forest. "This is a very big day, Rick! A very big day!"

10101010101010101

"This is a very big day, Mora. Yup. Finally going to ask her," the girl said in an excited whisper to the little bird. 

She hurriedly began to stuff her tape and pins back into their box and shoved them into her dresser. "Today's the day.." she smiled brightly at the bird. 

Suddenly a cold computerized voice yelled, "CHELL!" 

Chell  gasp and stumbled as she rushed to the portal gun on the other side of her room. "CHELL! Shoot me a portal!" the voice called in annoyance. 

As  Chell  passed the bird, she whispered happily "It's time!" The bird flew away from her window silently. " Chell , the test results are not going to magically appear into my hands!" the voice snapped angrily.

Chell  peaked out of the window and shot a portal next to the brunette women and then one on the clear wall in her room. The women walked through the portal quickly and took the device from  Chell's  hands, quickly pressing the reset button to clear the portals. "Oh,  Chell . Why it takes you so long to do something that isn't even test related is beyond me.." the women scolded lightly. 

"I'm sorry  GLaDOS .."  Chell  said sadly. "If you are sorry, then I also do not understand why you have made no effort into correcting this problem!"  GLaDOS  sighed with more annoyance, walking away from the girl. "I'll try harder... but  GLaDOS , I'm sure you know what tomorrow is.." as they walked passed the mirror,  GLaDOS  stopped and put her arm around  Chell's  shoulders. 

" Chell , do you see what I see when I look into this mirror? I see an intelligent, skilled, and very successful women," with these remarks, something made  Chell  smile a little, even if she knew what was coming. "And then there is you. You have the potential to do all these things and yet you insist on being slow and lazy."

GLaDOS  lifted her arm from  Chell  and began toward the door of the main operating room. "I know I know, but  GLaDOS , I want to know if tomorrow.."  Chell  was cut off again as  GLaDOS  growled in frustration while staring at  Chell's  testing results. " Chell ! These are the worst results ever! It even says your still singing when you test! You know I fixed the portal gun to work without those stupid songs. What have you been doing all day?" 

Chell  sighed and rubbed her temples. "I rearranged the drawings and..." once again she was cut off. "Those stupid, ugly little scribbles. Those aren't even art! If you want art to decorate the tower, I have told you many times that I would acquire  real  art."

"I like the drawings.."  Chell  mumbled softly. "But  GLaDOS , please. I've been trying to say that tomorrow is my birthday and-" 

"So? Birthdays are an annual thing, you really can't expect every birthday you have to be special. Trust me, you are going to have a lot more of them-" this time  GLaDOS  was cut off. "But  GLaDOS , I really  really  want to see where all these pictures come from! Just think of it as a research trip and maybe there will be lots of science behind it and-"

"No" was  GLaDOS ' simple answer.  Chell  wouldn't settle for it though. "But look at these papers! These aren't like any other paper I've ever seen. Their not laminated and when the wind blows them they get carried away easier then normal paper. And yet their heavier then normal and when the light hits them, they sparkle a little. And their totally water  proo -" 

"Want part of no did your primitive brain not understand?"  GLaDOS  growled out. "But if only you took me.."

"There is no science to be done at looking at a bunch of pieces of paper being thrown in the air!"  GLaDOS  glared at the girl. " _** Why would you want to go outside, my  Chell ? Look at these, getting worse by the hour! ** _ "   GLaDOS  waved the papers in front of  Chell's  face before continuing.

 " _** Still a little child, with no doubt. You know why you stay up in this tower, ** _ "   GLaDOS  dropped the paper onto the floor and ignored  Chell's  protest of "I know but-"

" _** That's right, to get the science done, dear. Guess I always knew this day was coming, knew that soon you'd want to stop the tests. Maybe, not yet, ** _ "   Chell  began her protest once again "But-" but  GLaDOS ' finger hushed her.

 " **_ Shh ! Trust me, pet.  GLaDOS  knows best! _ ** "  Rather eerily, all the lights then flickered out then came back on very dimly. " **_ GLaDOS  knows best, please do not look farther. _ ** "   Chell  let out a yelp as she tripped in the dark, but was quick to regain her footing. 

" _** It's a scary world out there.  GLaDOS  knows best! One way or another, something will kill you, I swear!  Ruffians, thugs, Bushman's Poison, quicksand, cannibals and snakes... the plague! ** _ "   Chell's  faced paled at seeing  GLaDOS  with a cruel smirk on her face "N-no!" 

With an evil laugh,  GLaDOS  continued " _** Yes! Also large bugs! ** _ "   Chell  hopped away from a large shadow with a gasp. " _** Men with pointy teeth, and those variables haven't been tested! ** _ "   Chell  let out a sigh of relief as  GLaDOS  patted her on the head. " **_ GLaDOS ' right here,  GLaDOS  will protect you. Child here's what I suggest, skip the drama, you're no llama..  GLaDOS  knows best! _ ** "  

Chell  found herself suddenly lifted into the air and twirled around, but just as suddenly she was dropped. " _** GLaDOS  knows best, trust me little  lassy ** _ _**. On your own, you won't survive**_. " 

Chell  found herself pushed in front of her mirror as  GLaDOS  began to point out her flaws. " **_ Sloppy,  oddlydressed , immature, clumsy! You know they'll eat you up alive! Gullible, naïve, a horrible person. _ ** "

Chell  looked at her outfit for a moment, not understanding what was wrong with her tank top, jumpsuit and long fall boots. She found herself frowning heavily at these statements. " **_ Ditzy and honestly, well, vague. Plus, if I say,  gettin '  kinda  chubby. _ ** " 

Chell's  mouth fell open at that moment, and  GLaDOS  made a smooth recovery " **_ I'm just saying 'cause I have to.  GLaDOS  understands,  GLaDOS _ ** **_' here to help you. All I have is one request.._**. "  

GLaDOS  placed her hands on  Chell's  shoulders and stared at her in the eyes. " Chell ?" The girl looked up at the older women, her mouth closing. "Yea..?"

GLaDOS ' soft expression hardened in an instant. "Don't ever ask to leave this tower again or else you will regret it."  Chell's  eyes fell to the ground as the lights of the room turned back to normal. "Yes,  GLaDOS ..." 

GLaDOS  began to walk away after handing the Portal Gun back to  Chell . "Science must continue."  Chell  jogged up to  GLaDOS ' retreating silhouette, smiling.  GLaDOS  turned around and poked  Chell  on the nose, ever so gently. " _** Don't forget it, you'll regret it...  GLaDOS  knows best! ** _ "  

And so  Chell  began her daily testing, still humming lightly as she completed her work.  GLaDOS  scolding her half heartedly whenever she heard a melody from the girl. She couldn't, for reasons beyond her comprehending, stop herself from smiling ever so softly at the girl while she hummed with her. After several hours of testing,  GLaDOS  finally allowed  Chell  to rest. That irritating warmth was in her chest again as she looked at the girl. Growling she went to the window and looked back to  Chell . "I will return later, complete another 10 tests before I come back" she muttered before jumping down. 

Chell  ran to the window and watched as  GLaDOS  landing on her feet with the dust fling around her.  GLaDOS  looked back to the girl in the window, fighting back the smile as best she could.  Chell  waved at  GLaDOS  as she began to walk away.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you make art for this, send it to me at imusicalminji.tumblr.com and I will post it in the part of the story it belongs. Or even the music. If you sing I will try to insert it.

Wheatley had taken to reading the paper as he ventured out into the woods. He had hoped that there may be something to do with the princess in the paper that he had not yet known about. Of course everything in the paper dealing with the princess was universally known by everyone. She was lightly tanned, had dark hair, bright eyes, and really looked nothing like her parents. Wheatley grumbled and flipped the page, gasping when he spotted a picture of himself. "Would you look at that! They put me in the paper for finding that noblewomen's cat and-" he cut himself sort as he stared at the picture. His left eye visibly twitched under his glasses. "Why is my bloody hair that long? It barely goes passed my shoulders, and this.. is it.. flowing in the wind..?" 

Suddenly Rick stopped moving and began to whiney out his laughter at the statements. Wheatley just looked at him and began "Look, just because my hair is a little longer then some guys doesn't mean that they should make me look so  so , so girlie! I mean, look at me! No were on this body is a girlie part of me. I'm as thin as a stick, no breasts of any kind and- would you stop laughing at me? I mean really Rick it's just-" 

A  red laser caught Wheatley's eye. He looked at it's source and nearly cried on the spot. Behind the bushes was an old and rusty turret, locked right onto his chest. "I see you..."

With a scream from both parties, they raced through the forest as fast as they could and avoiding anything that was being launched at them. Rick was quick to dash between the trees and bushes, so very careful with his footing. Wheatley on the other hand, was bouncing and very close to falling off the stallion. He looked around him quickly, noticing that the further they went into the forest, the more turrets seemed to appear. Rick galloped as quick as he can but he was stopped by a wide river. Wheatley gasped and tried to rear the house to continue in the other direction but Rick just huffed. The thin red lights slowly began their way back to the duo, and with one powerful leap, Rick jumped across the river.

This was in vain however, since without a running start, the brown stallion lost it's footing on the bank of the river. Slipping back, Rick whinnied loudly in distress as he slipped backwards, sending Wheatley off of his saddle. Both fell  into the raging river and struggled to keep afloat. Wheatley tried in vain to call out to his stead, only swallowing frigid water. Reaching toward the whining horse, Wheatley was yanked violently away as the river forked off. Rick was washed safely to shore by the lesser current of the fork, but Wheatley was  thrusted  right off a waterfall.

Hacking harshly, Wheatley collapsed onto the green grass and breathed deeply. Panic struck him again as he began to look around franticly, looking for tiny red lights. His eye was caught by a huge tower in the middle of the grassy field, covered in beautiful ivy and flowers. With only his safety in mind, he raced to the structure and began to climb. He lost his footing a couple of times and fell, luckily not managing to injury himself seriously. Wheatley reached the top of the tower a couple of minutes later and fell through the window. His labor breath slowed as he stood up slowly, looking around the room. The first thing he notice was the books lining the far wall. Machiavelli, Aristotle, Pluto, Da Vinci, Locke, and other great philosopher masterpieces adored the shelves. He looked around to notice pictures lining the walls in a-

His thought was cut off as something very hard collided with his jaw, sending him to the ground in a blackout.   Chell  stood behind where Wheatley once was, shaking her reddened knuckles with a wince. She stared at the man for a long time, her eyes full of curiosity. She looked to Mora, who was sitting on her dresser, for advice on what she should do now. The bird simply tilted it's head at the man.  Chell  walked around his unconscious body and crouched in front of his face. With hesitant hands, the girl poked Wheatley's face a couple of times. Confident he was completely knocked out, she moved his hair to get a better view of his face. 

Her brow knotted together in concentration while looking at him. His skin was a creamy peach, unlike  GLaDOS ' cold silver and her own light tan. She lifted some strains of his hair in her hands, never have seen hair with this odd shade of red. She smiled a little at the softness of it, even though it was wet. Her focus then turned to his eyes. Though they were closed, she could tell they were rather big. Gently, she lifted one of his eyelids to view the color. A rather shocking blue that she couldn't help but to stare at. Dropping his eyelid, her vision traveled down his round nose to his lips. Her own lips pursed together at remember what  GLaDOS  had told her. Men had pointy teeth. Her curiosity got the better of her, and  Chell  found herself pinching his cheek and dragging it upward to view the inside of his mouth. Normal teeth in a normal mouth, though one was silver in the back. 

Chell leaned back looking at him. He was a lot like her, nothing like GLaDOS had described other people to be like. Then he groaned lowly and Chell panicked. Squeezing her eyes shut and pursing her lips, she punched him one more time for good measure. 

Chell  peaked open one of her eyes to look at the man again. He was once again, completely unconscious and now drooling with his mouth open. She stuck out her own tongue in mild disgust and closed his mouth for him. She stood up and paced quickly. If  GLaDOS  returned to find this man in her room, then something bad would probably happen to both of them. She looked to Mora for help again, and the bird looked to the closet under the stairs leading to her bed. "I can do that.."  Chell  mumbled quietly. 

With slight difficulty, she managed her successfully hoist the larger man with his arm around her shoulder, only dropping him a few times. She began to drag him to the closet, grunting a little when his feet got caught on the edge of the rug.  Chell  tugged him fiercely and freed his foot from the carpet, but the pull was too strong and it sent her tumbling to the ground with the heavy man on her back. A few attempts later, she managed to push his body into her closet and shut the door.

Chell  then began to pace the room, hoping that the man didn't wake up before or while  GLaDOS  was there. She stopped in front of the mirror and looked back to the closet. She had another person in her closet. A very big and heavy man. She had knocked him out, twice. She did it. A smile of pride grew on her face and she playfully boxed at the mirror. She had did it all on her own. Her play boxing slipped and she hit the mirror, making it crack, making  Chell  gasp and hold out her hands to stop the glass if it fell. 

"CHELL!" a voice called from out of the window. "Send me a portal before my generosity wears off!"  Chell's  brow knotted together in confusion, but she scrambled to find the portal device as quickly as possible. "Today  Chell !" 

The girl ran to the window with the newly found portal gun and looked down at  GLaDOS . Something was strapped to her back and she had a bag full of something in her left hand.  Chell  shot the portals in the appropriate places, allowing the women to walk into her room casually. She shrugged the box like structure off her back and placed the bag on top of it. The girl went to the box and touched the wrapping paper tentatively, and pulled it back in an instant when  GLaDOS  smacked her hand lightly. "Is this a.."  Chell's  words died out, her eyes looking widely at  GLaDOS . 

"Don't look at me like that, it's nothing special. Trust me, it can't even talk to you," was  GLaDOS ' reply to  Chell's  questioning look. "Don't even think about taking the paper off of it until it's actually your birthday."

Chell just looked at the box fondly, wondering what it could be. Her eyes traveled up to the clear bag on top of the box. She reached toward that as well, but it was snatched up by GLaDOS. "This is for tomorrow too."

The girl couldn't hold her excitement back as a large grin spread across her face. Her happiness was shattered however, when  Glados  asked "Why is your back all wet?"

Chell's  face paled and she shuttered nervously "I- Well you see, r-remember when you said that I wouldn't be able to handle my-"  GLaDOS  sighed out. " Chell , I was nice enough to get you a birthday present and things to make a cake. What else could you possibly want?"

GLaDOS  sat in a chair and looked at the girl with a raised eye brow. "Well I was actually thinking about what you told me and then the most amazing thing happened! I really think you should reconsider about taking me to-"

"I thought I told you never to ask to leave? Have you been brain damaged since I was last here?"  GLaDOS  looked over to the mirror, noticing it's cracked surface. "But if you only listen to what I'm  tr -"

" I TOLD YOU NO MULTIPLE TIMES, I SHALL NOT REPEAT MYSELF AGAIN! "

Chell  sat in silence looking sadly at  GLaDOS  before looking to the cracked mirror, then to the ground. "Don't look l around like that, you know that you’re the one in the wrong here,"  GLaDOS  pointed out to the girl, fighting back her own look of sadness from showing. 

Chell  lifted her eyes to meet  GLaDOS ' but the pictures above her caught her eye. With her eyes wide, she noticed something she never even bothered to look at before. The girl quickly looked back to  GLaDOS  before she had the chance to turn around to see what she was looking at. "Would it be possible for me to get new clothes..?"  Chell  asked quietly. "I don't want you to think I dress oddly..." 

GLaDOS  looked at the girl softly and breathed deeply. "What kind of clothes do you want? Not that it will make much of a difference."  Chell  looked down to the women's outfit. "Clothes like yours..?" 

The women frowned a little, but her eyes held the soft expression. " Chell , these clothes come from a very far away place. It's a three day trip, to there and back."  She lifted herself from the chair and walked to the girl, placing her hands on her shoulders gently. "Are you sure that's what you want? You do understand that you will not be getting your cake until after your birthday if you want this particularly thing."

With bright and hopeful eyes,  Chell  looked up at  GLaDOS , "I can wait." With a smile she didn't even force to leave,  GLaDOS  patted the girl on the head. "Don't kill yourself while I'm gone, do the safer tests." Unexpectedly for bother parties,  GLaDOS  hugged the girl briefly before leaping from the window to the ground below. The women looked back to the window at the girl who smiled at her. The girl was waving gently, and it took every ounce of  GLaDOS ' willpower not to wave back. 

As soon as  GLaDOS  was out of view,  Chell  raced back to her closet and flung it open. The man still laid where she left him, soaking wet with his rear in the air. The girl looked around her room, Mora catching her attention from the chair. She smiled and dragged the chair over to her closet and hoisted the man onto it. Just as she was finish taping him to the chair, he began to groan.  Chell  jumped away from him and pointed her portal gun to his face. 

The man lifted his hair and looked groggily down at the tape bonding him. He groaned again with a wince, making  Chell  notice the obvious bruise on his jaw from where she hit him twice. " Wha \- Where am I?" he asks with a hoarse voice. "Wait..." his eyes grew wide with terror at his realization. He began to struggle against the tape and began speaking quickly " Thisisbad,verybad,Ibrokeintosomeone'shouse,ohgod ! I'm a criminal-" He looked up to  Chell , finally noticing her presence. 

"Wait! No! No  no no no ! I'm not a criminal! Actually quite the opposite of one you see..." he trailed off at the sight of her weapon. "Don't shoot me..." he whimpered. 

Chell thrusted  the gun forward in a way she thought looked menacing. " Woah woah , look lady, I'm a detective and I'm here working on a case and..." he stopped his babbling as she lowered her weapon.

Her brow up raised in question and she pointed to the drawings on her wall. He looked over quickly, then back to her, before turning his full attention to the pictures. "Yea, you put the king's puzzle together" he stated. 

She looked at the drawings. The way she had them placed on her wall made out a bigger picture of a baby that looked a lot like her. She looked back to him, lifting her brow again at his staring face. He seemed to snap out of his trance and he began to ramble again. "I'm sorry, your just really cute- but wait, no, well yes you are if I'm honestly-  gah ! Look, Lady. Please, can you let me out? I have to find that girl and then- oh who am I kidding? There's possibly no chance she's even- no  no no  can't think like that because then-" He looked up at  Chell . "Say, do you read all those books just in your free time?" 

Chell  turned to her book shelves, examining them, then back to the man. She nodded slowly, not knowing the point he was trying to make. "Really? That's amazing!" He began. "Those books are very hard even scholars to understand."

The girl giggled a bit at that, remembering that most of those books used to be her bedtime stories as a child. "Oh! I have an idea!" The man shouted suddenly.

Chell  looked to him and waited for his response. "You must be like some kind of genius, a bit quiet, but smart, huh? And you're armed, which is lovely because there are some horrible things that kept shooting me on my way here-" His bright blue eyes looked up at the girl with a pleading look. "Help me find the lost princess, please.."

With wide eyes and an open mouth,  Chell  couldn't believe her ears. He wanted her to help him? What if it was a trap? She looked to him, then to the window, and then makeshift mural of the baby. She pointed to the giant picture. "Yes! Yes, that’s the lost princess I'm talking about!" he exclaimed. 

Chell  opened her mouth again to speak, but her cheeks burned at the thought of talking to a stranger. She took one of the papers off the wall before pointing to it then to the outside. "You want to draw out- no  no  you want to see the paper thing they do for the princess!"  Chell  nodded  eagarly . "Tell you what," he began. "If you help me find the princess, I'll take you were EVER you want to go. Is that a deal,  uhh .." Catching what he was pondering, the girl uttered her name very quietly. "I'm  Chell ..." 

The man beamed with joy. "Does that mean you'll help me? Oh wait, sorry. I'm Wheatley.." he laughed a little, nervously.  Chell  looked at him with a smile, but it faded as she looked around the room. If she left, she could finally see were all the pictures came from, and from the looks of it, she might know something about a great mystery. If she left, she would meet new people, possibly make some friends and could prove to  GLaDOS  she could handle herself in the real world. But.. she thought looking at her wrapped gift. If she left, and  GLaDOS  found out, she would be furious and may even destroy her gift and punish her.  

With new determination, she decided that she would just be home before  GLaDOS  came back. Nodding more to herself then to Wheatley, she walked behind him and ripped the tape off of him. He grinned and got up, holding out his hand. "I guess we're partners for now then, huh,  Chell ?" 

The girl just looked at his hand oddly, squeezing her portal gun in her hands. "Uh.. you shake it.. Yup, just put your hand in mine and then.. shake it..?"  Chell  just walked away while looking at him oddly. "Or not, perfectly understandable."

Chell  had walked to the window and stared out of it, with Mora perched on her shoulder. Wheatley walked next to her and began his way climbing down the vines, slowly. "Be careful  Chell , this is a lot harder then it looks!"

The girl climbed into the still and looked down. " **_ Look at the world so close, and I'm halfway to it... _ ** " she sang quietly. " **_ I could get in trouble, do I even dare? _ ** " she took an unsure set back. 

" _** Look at me, there at last... ** _ "  She leaned down and adjusted her long fall boots for good measure. " _** I  just have to do it... ** _ " With a shy glance at her gift behind her. " _** Maybe- No. Here I go... ** _ "

With a powerful jump, she fell to the ground. She heard Wheatley yell out in alarm, but that seemed so distant now as she stood in the grass. She looked back to him with the biggest grin she ever held in her life. Still, he was far from her, too far to hear her so she began to sing again. " **_ It's really grass! And dirt! All the way I dreamed they'd be! _ ** "  She laid on the ground, feeling everything under her skin.

Her attention was caught again by the sway of the flowers around her. " **_ Just feel that summer breeze, it feels so warm to me... _ ** " Seeing Mora fling away,  Chell  rose and ran over to were the bird had gone, landing her boots into the stream. " _** And with no tests for me, I'm completely free! ** _ "  

The sight of her feathered friend caught her eye again as she ran off toward it. " **_ I could go running, and racing, and dancing, and chasing, and leaping, and bounding, hair flying, heart pounding, and with no testing I'm finally feeling that's when my life begins! _ ** "


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you make art for this, send it to me at imusicalminji.tumblr.com and I will post it in the part of the story it belongs. Or even the music. If you sing I will try to insert it.

Chell  breathed in the fresh air of the forest deeply. "I can't believe I did this.." she whispered to herself. The girl looked back to her tower with fearful eyes. "I can't believe I did this.."

Wheatley gasped lightly as he jogged up to  Chell , and whined when the girl began to run again. She ran through flowers, and jumped up some trees and laughed more then she ever laughed in her life. Then it dawned on her again.  GLaDOS  would be furious if she ever found out about this. She shook her head to reason with herself.  GLaDOS  wouldn't find out if she got back soon enough, right?  Chell  squeezed her portal gun in her hands, her knuckles turning white. Of course  GLaDOS  would find out, she was the smartest person in the world, right?

Mora flying passed  Chell's  face distracted her long enough for the drunken joy of the situation to kick in again. The girl ran after the bird with new found excitement. Wheatley stood at the trunk of a tree and just watched as  Chell  climbed it with gusto. She stared down at Wheatley's smiling face as she reached the top. Looking around, she took in the scenery of the forest. Then she saw the path they had taken and remembered the things that  GLaDOS  had told her. She looked down sadly, admitting to herself that she really must have been a horrible person for doing this. She looked up for a moment, thinking that maybe it would be better if she did go back to her tower.

The girl landed next to Wheatley with a soft thud and began walking away. Her attention became caught by other marvels of nature and soon she found herself running away from the tower, laughing more. If it was this fun being outside, why should she ever have to go back? She rolled down a small hill and breathed deeply again, looking at the clouds. Her mind was contradicting itself. She felt horrible for leaving the tower and disobeying  GLaDOS , but if she thought on the other side of things, this had became the best day she ever experience just from doing what was also making her feel bad. 

Chell  placed her arm over her eyes and groaned. What was she suppose to think in this situation? The little light that slipped through her arm to her eyes, was replaced by a dark shadow. She peeked out to see Wheatley standing over her with a look of genuine concern. He reached his hand out to her, but she got up without his help. "Are you  uhh .. feeling alright there?" He asked as he began to walk next to her. 

Chell  looked at him with a raised brow and he continued, "Well I can't help but notice that you are having some pretty awful mood swings here and I just want to make sure your up to this little trip.  I mean, I can take you back if you want, it's no trouble really, I wouldn't want you to push yourself."

The girl looked to him and smiled, which made his face light up. " Uhh  yea, so you're ok then?" he mumbled while rubbing his neck. He tried his best not too stare at her, but found himself peeking at her smiling face. 

She continued to walk and motioned him to fallow. "Right  right , coming." 

The silence was comfortable as they walked but Wheatley couldn't get over the fact that every so often the girl's face would change drastically from being calm to happy to sad or even mad. "You know, a little bit adventure is perfectly ok. I mean, it's good for someone to get out and explore the world, get a better grasp of their surroundings. You don't want to end up getting lost."  Chell  simply nodded to his words. "Whatever is wrong, I can help you know. I know you just met me and you seem to have a little trust issue, but I'm here. I tend to be a chatterbox at times and not many people think I'm that smart, but I can be a good listener too. And-" the sound of a bush rustling stopped Wheatley's ramble and directly the duo's attention to it's source.

Wheatley hid a little behind  Chell , muttering "Shoot it shoot it shoot it-" He stopped his stammering as  Chell  began to laugh and lowered her gun. Wheatley peeked out and saw the little rabbit looking up at him with big brown eyes. Wheatley's blue eyes squinted as he looked at the critter. "That's not funny.." 

Wheatley looked behind him, noticing  Chell  had began to walk away from him again. He stumbled a little as he ran over to her. "Do you remember," he began. "When I mentioned that I was a detective? Yea, well, I think we should try to avoid anyone that looks particularly robotic and,  uhh .. well a little broken. And two kids with eye patches and-" he stopped his babbling again as he heard the rumblings of a stomach. 

He eyed  Chell , who was holding her stomach with an embarrassed look. "Oh! Oh  oh oh ! I can help with this!" Wheatley announced as he began to jog ahead. The girl looked at him oddly before picking up her pace to be with him.

0G0G0G0G0G0G0

Rick snorted loudly as he kicked over another rusted turret. He held his head up in pride as it shut down, it's red eye fading slowly. He began to trot and looked around cautiously for any more turrets. He lowered his muzzle and began to sniff the ground, and then a women appeared out of the bushes. Rick whinnied loudly at the sight of her. The women focused her yellow eyes on the creature in a glare. She read the words on the leather chest piece he wore and she scoffed. "A horse from Aperture.." 

Then a slow realization hit her as she was about to walk away. She turned back to the stallion and growled. "Where's your rider?" 

The horse did a kind of shrugging motion before  GLaDOS  raced off back in the direction she came, panic ripping at her insides. Had someone found the girl? Was her inventions safe? Terror raced into  GLaDOS ' system as another thought hit her. Was  Chell  safe? She ran as fast as she could back to the tower, not caring if leaves were caught in her hair or dirt smeared on her legs as she fell once. She reached the tower and began to yell, terror and panic evident in her voice. "CHELL! CHELL!" She waited for a response, her eye brows drawn up in worry. " Chell ! Shoot me a portal!" 

Still there was no answer to her desperate pleas. She ran around the tower to a secret passage and merely kicked the bricks in and ran up the stairs. She ran passed each test chamber, checking them for any signs of the girl. The chambers held no comfort to her distress and she continued to  Chell's  room. She looked around everywhere and collapsed to the ground as her fears were realized.  Chell  was gone, someone had taken her. She fought back artificial tears as she picked herself up and looked around for a hint of who or what could have taken the girl.  GLaDOS  raised her eyes to the drawings on the wall, now taking in the way they were arranged. There was  Chell , as an infant. Her worry melted into anger and  GLaDOS  glared at the collage. With one fluid motion, she ripped one page off the corner of the wall, scattering the rest of the pages across the room. 

0CW0CW0CW0CW0CW0

"How about this? This appears edible enough.." Wheatley said as he held up a rather odd looking mushroom.

Chell  frowned and began walking again. Wheatley sighed out behind her, "Your right, never a good idea to eat fungus in a forest.."

Chell  held out her arm to stop him, and pointed her free hand to a small cottage. Wheatley had bumped into the girl's arm and uttered an apology repeatedly before looking to were she was pointing. "The Cuddly Kitten?" he read out slowly. 

Chell  began toward the place with a small smile on her face, confident with each step. Wheatley on the other hand, walked nervously behind her. "Do you think this is safe? I mean, a random cottage in the middle of the forest? Do you read any fairy tails? This could be were some witch lives, or there could be wolves, or even worse  Atla -"

Chell  swung the door to the small pub open with easy and walked in without paying any mind to the many rather scary individuals that looked at her. She couldn't help but notice that many of them were outdated androids that twitched and sparked. Wheatley stumbled through a door and gaped at the people staring at him. "C- Chell !" he stuttered as he ran over to her. 

He gripped her shoulders and hid behind her. "I really think this is a bad idea, I think we should leave and just try to find food somewhere else."  Chell  ignored him and continued to the bar counter. "Look, remember? I'm a detective, and it turns out I'm kind of the reason a lot of these people look the way they do, can we just please-"

Suddenly, Wheatley was ripped from her shoulders and lifted into the air. "Who do we have here?" A little yellow eyed girl asked with a smile, looking up at Wheatley. "It's the man from that hospital."

"You're right  Curi . I bet Blue and Orange would love to get their hands onto him." A red eyed man growled out menacingly. "Defect, go find them!" 

A  little boy ran out of the pub excitedly. "I'm really going to enjoy watching them ripping out this expensive little e-" Wheatley was suddenly yanked out of the man's grip by a purple eyed man. "Expensive is a fact, I could make a lot of money if-"  His legs were pulled by the smaller girl. "What about me?" she laughed. 

More of the people all began to yank and pull at the man. "Hey.."  Chell  said as she tried to fight through the crowd. They all just pushed her back, one of them making her fall. "Please, don't pull my hair!  Gah  that hurts! Stop, not there. Wait, that kind of tickles, who is tickling me. No! That hurts too!"

Chell looked around frantically, trying to figure out a way for them to release Wheatley. Without finding anything worthy of use, she opted to just punch the man in front of her as hard as she could. He cried out in pain and looked back to her. Everyone else turned to look at her as well, their looks of sadistic joy fading. "Look! I know he must have put you guys through a lot, but he was only doing his job. Right now, I need his help to get to the city before  she  gets back!" She shouted out. "Can't anyone let me live my dream?"

Everyone dropped Wheatley on the spot, making him groan loudly in pain. The red eyed man walked to her, a look of pure rage on his face. "I have a dream too..." He whispered. 

Chell  looked at him oddly as he began to sing. " _** I  was programmed to be scary, my face is never cheery.. ** _ "  he walked away from her a bit. " _** Compared to everyone else, I am the meanest... ** _ "

He began to walk toward the stage, shoving everyone else out of his way. " _** But despite my mean right hook, my temper and  my evil look. ** _ "  He sat down and a spotlight flooded his figure. " _** I've always dreamed to be a concert pianist! ** _ "

He began to play with expert skills and smiled to her. " **_ Can't you see me on the stage  performin ' Mozart? Stroking all the ivories 'til they gleam? _ ** "  He gave her a little wink as she walked closer to watch his performance. " **_ Yea, I'd play my show-tune medley rather than hurting poor Wheatley. _ ** "

Wheatley walked beside  Chell , shouting a small "Thank you!"

The red eyed man smiled widely. " ' _ **Cause way down deep inside, I've got a dream!**_ " The other people of the pub all began to laugh and sing a little chorus. " _** He's got a dream! He's got a dream! ** _ "  

Wheatley slug his arm around  Chell  and sang along with the crowd happily. " _** Though I do like beating losers, you can count me with the dreamers, like everybody else, I've got a dream! ** _ "

The cheerful chorus of the song trailed outside of the cottage, leaving a women standing there with an annoyed look written on her face. Inside of the pub, the small yellow eyed girl referred to as  Curi  climbed next to the red eyed man. " **_ I've got lots and lots of questions, like what is this that oozes? _ ** " She asked holding up a paper bag, before it was smacked out of her hands by the red eyed man. " _** And why do I always face rejection? ** _ "

She hopped down from the stage in front of  Chell . " _** And what is up with your clothes? And your weird shoes and your pose? ** _ "   Chell  took a step away from the little girl and looked at Wheatley, who shrugged. " _** Despite all that, I want a love connection! ** _ "

The girl twirled and grabbed a twitching blond boy by the arms and began to dance with him. " **_ Can you see me with a special little honey? Dancing to Anger's music by the stream? _ ** "  The boy spun the girl off to purple eyed man. " _** Though I'm one annoying blighter, I'm a lover, not a fighter. ** _ "  The purple haired man let go of the girl and walked away. " _** Caught way down deep inside I've got a dream! ** _ "

Chell  found herself singing aloud with Wheatley and the rest of the bar, " _** She's got a dream!  She's got a dream! ** _ "  The girl skipped back to the blond boy, who hugged her. " _** And I know that one day romance will reign supreme! Though I tend to leave people screaming, there's a purpose behind my dreaming!  Like everybody else, I've got a dream! ** _ "  she giggled. 

Everyone looked over to the blond boy. " _** Space would like to build a rocket to the moon! ** _ "  Then over to a women with squinted eyes. " _** Alyx  does web based design! ** _ "  Then to two other people. " **_He's into mime, Gordon's cupcakes are sublime!_** "

Chell  laughed more and clapped along. " _** Eli knits, G.Man sews, Fact does little puppet shows.. ** _ "  The man referred to by Anger came over to a blue eyed man and sang dramatically. " _** And Intelligence collects cake recipes! ** _ "  The man called Intelligence looked at him with a raised eye brow. 

Suddenly, they all turned to  Chell  and Wheatley. "What about you?"  Curi  asked energetically. "I'm sorry, me?" Wheatley asked nervously. "What's your dream?" She sang. "No  no , it's a bad idea for me to sing-" he gulped loudly as everyone gave him a death glare. 

" _** I got a dream too, it's not like yours though really.. ** _ " He started a little off key but he picked it up into something that sounded rather marvelous to  Chell . " **_ People look at me funny, and it's because I tend to talk stupidly. _ ** "

The girl's brows knitted together with concern and she pushed Wheatley a little to get him smiling again. " _** I just don't want people thinking that I'm just a moron! ** _ " He looked down to  Chell  with a blush before looking away. " _** And I want a cute girl that really seems to love me.. ** _ "  

Chell  yelped as she was placed on a table and everyone cheered around her. She looked nervously to Wheatley, who only smiled at her. " _** I've got a dream.. ** _ "  She began quietly. " _** She's got a dream! ** _ "  The entire pub cheered loudly. " _** I've got a dream, ** _ " she said a little louder, only to be encouraged again by the crowd. " _** She's got a dream! ** _ "

" _** I just want the see the flying papers gleam! ** _ "  She smiled down at everyone around her as they shouted, " Yeaa !! "  

" _**And with every passing hour**_ , "  She sang happily. Just then,  GLaDOS  moved a window and watched the girl dance about on the table, a look of seer pain in her eyes. " _** I'm so glad I left my tower! ** _ "  With that,  GLaDOS  turned and left the window.

Wheatley rested against the table looking up at the girl. " _** Like all you lovely folks, She's got a dream.. ** _ "  he sighed out.  The crowd erupted into song together. " _** She's got a dream! He's got a dream! They've got a dream! We've got a dream! ** _ "

Dancing broke out as well with the song, Wheatley making sure to at least try to get a dance with  Chell . " _** So our  diff'rences ain't  really that extreme, we're one big team! ** _ "   Chell  and Wheatley both found themselves shoved together. " _** Call us brutal, sick, sadistic, and grotesquely optimistic, 'cause way down deep inside, we've got a dream! ** _ "

Their cheerful dancing continued as the chorus sang strongly. Wheatley couldn't help but to stare at  Chell's  smiling and laughing face as she looked around at everyone, he squeezed her hands as they danced around. " I've got a dream! I've got a dream!  Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo ! Yes way down deep inside, I've got a dream!  Yeahh ! "  Though the song was finished, Wheatley and  Chell  seemed to be in their own little world as  Chell  looked up him with bright eyes and a soft smile, which Wheatley matched. 

They were broken out of their trance when the doors to the pub swung open and the little boy from before came bursting in. "I've found them! I found them!" 

All noise in the cottage died in that instant as two young teenage children walked in slowly. A boy with dark hair and a muscular frame. One of his eyes was blue, while the other was hidden by an eye patch. A taller girl with blond hair was beside him with an orange eye and eye patch. Both wearing matching leather gear. Their footsteps were slow and everyone seemed to clear the way for them. Just before they noticed  Chell  and Wheatley, the man known as Anger yanked them both up and hid them behind the bar counter. 

"Go and get your dream.." he growled as he pressed a switch that opened a secret passage.


	5. Chapter 4

The two children walked through the pub casually. The female of the both of them held the boy's hand, pointing and giggling at things occasionally. The boy was focused on his unspoken mission, dragging the girl along with him to investigate his surroundings. The other people of the pub stayed clear from their path and most held a look of pure terror. The boy let out his frustration in a deep growling noise and glared at Anger. The girl glared as well, though softly and rather disinterested. No one spoke for a long moment before Anger returned the boy's growl. "He's gone, you were too slow Atlas."

Atlas' visible eye twitched and in an instant he flipped the table next to him over. Though fury was spilled into every feature on his face, he looked to his female companion for advice. She shrugged and an devious grin spread out on her face. The anger seemed to fade from the boy's face as his own evil smile crept up. The bar goers began to yell in protest as the two teens began to throw and break anything they could get their hands on.  Curi  ran over to the girl as she was about to smash the piano, but was shoved back violently into Space. The girl looked to the wide eyed crowd, holding a bar stool above the piano. She lifted her head and glared down on them, " No more lies, where is he? " Her voice was heavily computerized with a shrieking high pitch. 

Everyone in the bar looked at each other with concerned faces.  Curi  looked to Anger, who was clenching the wood of the counter so hard his knuckles turned white.  Curi  knew how much that piano meant to the man, it was the only thing he ever wanted in his life and the day he got it was the first time he broke his original programming code with his joy. She looked back to the girl, who was steadily raising the bar stool. "P-Body, don't!"  Curi  shrieked. 

P-Body ignored her protests and continued to raise the chair.  Curi  began to breath heavily, but Anger placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked up to him, and he simply continued to watch as P-Body quickly swung her arm down and smashed his piano. She looked around to the people of the bar, " Next we are going to start smashing people so speak up. "

Suddenly the doors to the pub opened and in stepped Rick. " The hell..? " a deeper computerized voice emitted from Atlas as he stared at the horse.

The brown stallion looked around and snorted as he didn't spot his rider anyway. He sniffed around and finally caught something. Walking to the counter, he stopped for a moment looking at  Curi . A rather flirtatious whinny left his throat and he winked at her, making  Curi  back away from him with caution. Atlas and P-Body walked over to the horse as it pressed the switch to the secret passage and walked down it casually. 

Atlas looked to P-Body with a big grin and hugged her a little before fallowing the horse. The girl looked to the people of the bar and grinned. " No one fallows. "

0G0G0G0G0

Space stepped out of the pub, twitching more than ever. "Space. Dream to go to space. Space. Space Lady went down the  sp -space tunnel," he began. "Space. That’s my dream. Best at space. Only space. All the time."

GLaDOS  stood by him casually, just looking down at him. The boy finally noticed her after muttering some more about space. He looked up at her with wide eyes. "Oh  oh oh . This space lady is older than the other space lady. Prettier space lady, all most as pretty as  Curi-sp-aaaccee .." he twitched again and a crack in his neck sparked. 

GLaDOS  growled in frustrated as she leaned down and opened a slot on his forehead. After unhooking a few wires, she began to speak to the boy. "Where does that tunnel led to?"

The boy twitched again before answering. 

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Chell  and Wheatley walked in silence through the dimly lit tunnel. The girl found it odd that Wheatley now refused to allow her any view of his face. "Thank you, by the way. For helping me out back there. Those folks were pretty serious with hurting me, well most of them at least. I did put them through a lot.. probably deserved anything they wanted to do to me really.."

Chell  reached toward him but he just seemed to walk a little faster to avoid her touch. "You see, during one of my cases, some women wanted to know what happened to her kid. He had gotten into trouble with some scientist at the palace labs and... well, he disappeared for a long time..." He sighed heavily. "I found him eventually, was quite a long time after I was hired. And he was mad, absolutely furious. I got one hell of a beating, was pretty livid.."

The girl just watched him as he sulked, not fully understanding why he was telling her this story. "He seems to be doing pretty good now though.. was meaning to apologize to him.. to all of them.. but the singing kind of.. really caught me off there.." He laughed a little nervously. "I did have a whale of a time though, so I guess it's-"

Wheatley and  Chell  stopped in their tracks as a low growling noise emitted from behind them.  Chell  glanced behind her, but was pulled forward as Wheatley grabbed her arm and began to run. The girl stumbled as she tried her best to keep up with the taller man. They came out of the tunnel and Wheatley skidded to an uncomfortable halt, falling backwards. He scrambled to his feet and looked back to the entrance of the tunnel as the two teens emerged. Wheatley laughed a little with a nervous smile. "Atlas, and P-body there with you.. uh yup.. so  uhh  how have you guys been..?"

Then, Rick charged forward and knocked the two children over before staring at Wheatley. Seemingly forgotten the other people, Wheatley scrambled to his feet and ran to the horse. "Rick! Buddy o' pal, I thought I'd ne-"

Rick whinnied in anger and nipped at Wheatley, who in turn yelled and ran from the horse. The two children picked themselves off the ground and both whipped out rather dangerous looking knives.  Chell  reacted quickly, launching a portal on a nearby ledge and then one under herself. She fell through and was safely on the other side of the gorge. "I've waited a long time for this.." Atlas growled out as he lunged his knife at Wheatley. The man yelled out and tripped while dodging the weapon, falling right through the portal.

Chell  caught him before he fell off the ledge entirely and looked around quickly trying to find where shoot her next portal. Spotting her only option, she shoot a portal to the floor of the canyon and fell back into the previous one before running with Wheatley in tow. "It shoots holes! Bigger than bullet holes and you can go through them! That’s the coolest little gadget I've ever seen!" 

Atlas and P-Body growled out in frustration from where they sat on the cliff looking down at the duo as they ran away. Rick snorted and looked around. Spotting a vine, he grinned and galloped to it and jumped. Catching the vine in his mouth, he swung around until his weight made the vine snap. He landed on an old wooden structure that shifted and began to slid downward. Rick rode the plank of wood like a surf board all the way down.  Chell  and Wheatley looked back in horror as the wooden structure that Rick had broken came tumbling after them. The girl looked around and lead Wheatley into a small cave just before rocks and heavy wooden planks blocked them in. 

"No!" Wheatley cried as he banged his fist against the debris that blocked them into the cave. "No  no no !"

Chell  looked in awe at the stones before Wheatley. It seemed something on his face gave off a faint blue light. The girl reached forward and touched his tense arm gently. The man turned slowly, eyes clenched tightly closed. Sliding down the stones behind him, he sat on the cold ground and looked up to  Chell . With his eyes finally open, the girl took in the new change to the man. Though his left eye seemed perfectly normal, his right eye glowed a warm blue light. 

He looked away from her and bit his lip nervously.  "This is all my fault," he growled out. "I dragged you into this and now we're trapped.. I'm sorry  Chell .." 

Chell  crouched down and hugged him gently, making a little noise for him to be quiet. Once his defeated babbles stopped, she looked at him with concern. She reached toward his glowing eye, but Wheatley grabbed her hand with a strange amount of power in his left hand. He let go mere moments later upon noticing the distress in  Chell's  face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I-" 

"How much of you is like that?" 

Her question caught him off guard and he looked away from her again, the gentle light drifting as well. "Well.. my eye is kind of obvious in the dark.." he stated quietly. "There's my arm.." he held it up a little before letting it drop to the dirt. "And my leg.." He trailed off as he stretched the leg in question. "Some other organs have been replaced too.." His voice quivered and he rubbed his arm as if he were cold.

Chell  patted his shoulder to tell him that he didn't have to go into details if he felt uncomfortable. He smiled at her, but still didn't bring himself to look at her face.  The girl simply looked at the poor man before her, feelings of pity washing over her. With a sigh, she stood up and walked around the same enclosure for any way to escape.  She smiled a little when she noticed that the rocks around the far wall seemed to be weaker.  Chell  crouched down next to the fragile wall and peeked though the tiny cracks, seeing light from the other side. A large grin spread across her face as she stood back up and began to kick the wall. " Wha \- what are you doing?" Wheatley gasped as got up and walked over to her. 

He placed his hands on her shoulders to get a better view of what she was trying to accomplish. With another kick, more rocks fell away from the wall and more sunlight crept into the cave. "Oh! That's brilliant!" He cheered. 

He moved the girl back a bit with a sheepish grin, "Let me do that, so you don't hurt your legs."

Chell  looked at him oddly for a moment as he stepped back and breathed deeply. He looked to her with a soft smile before turning back to the wall and kicking it hard. To the girl's amazement, the small wall crumbled away but the newly made hole was still to small to climb through. Wheatley kicked at it a few more times but no more rocks cleared away. He growled a bit in frustration before he was moved back in a similar way that he had done to  Chell .

The girl smirked a little at him and pointed to the portal device. He seemed to understand immediately and moved out of her way. She shot a portal on the rocks behind her before looking out of the hole and shooting a portal outside. Wheatley grinned widely at her success and allowed her to pass through the portal first with a goofy bow. They both laughed as they exited the cave and began on their adventure again.

0APG0APG0APG0

Atlas and P-Body sat in an old hallowed tree stump. Atlas growled in frustration and kicked a small rock, making it fly up and hitting P-Body in the head. She held the spot where it had hit her. Atlas looked at her with concern as he got up and hugged her. He kissed the injured place tenderly and stroked her blond locks apologetically.  P-Body sighed into the embrace and lifted her thin arms to encircle her companion. After a short while, they separated from their embrace. P-Body looked up at Atlas, the glow of his robotic eye becoming more pronounced in the setting sun. "We'll find him, don't worry," she said to comfort him. 

Atlas tucked on P-Body's arm to get her into a stand. They interlaced their fingers before they began walking. P-Body sighed lightly, the warm orange light from her eye shifting as she looked around her. A brighter glow caught her attention and she stopped, halting Atlas as well. He looked at her with concern before looking at a bright yellow light in a tree. "It's been a long time.." The figure in the tree breathed out. 

Atlas looked at the woman skeptically while P-Body waved energetically. GLaDOS fell from the tree onto her ground below and walked to the teen children. "How have you been?" she smiled deviously, making Atlas flinch. 

P-Body hugged the women tightly and smiled up at her. "Where did you go?" the girl asked. "We went to the kingdom like you told us to, but when we got back you were gone! Only that weird girl that keeps singing. We didn't talk to her because we know you didn't want us to but-" Atlas nudged the girl into silence as  GLaDOS  just stared down at them.

With one fluid motion,  GLaDOS  tore the eye patches away from the teens and stared at what laid under them. P-Body looked away from the women shyly, both eyes perfectly fine and emitting their soft orange light. Atlas, however, covered the spot with his hand and glared at the woman. She yanked his arm away to reveal a darken hole, her yellow eyes illuminating the empty port and other wires and circuits.  "Interesting, so this is what happened when I sent the both of you to retrieve the personality constructs."

P-Body's hand reached over and grabbed Atlas and squeezed.  GLaDOS  glared down at the behavior. "Still acting like humans I see." She let go of Atlas' arm and dropped the eye patches onto the ground. 

Atlas scrambled to the ground for his eye patch and was quick to place it back over his missing eye. He glanced up at P-Body with a sad smile, handing the other to her. She reached out slowly, grabbing it with a hesitant hand as she watched  GLaDOS  sigh with annoyance. "Due to your new handicap, I'm highly thinking of disposing of you, Blue."

P-Body gasped and threw herself in front of the still crouching Atlas.  GLaDOS  laughed a cold laugh and then sighed. "But despite that, I will give you both another chance to redeem yourselves." The two robots relaxed only slightly, both listening carefully to  GLaDOS ' request. "Honestly, this plan with benefit all three of us. You will keep your pathetic 'friend', you will get revenge on that moron, and I.." she stopped her words, unsure how to phrase her next point. She sighed in defeated and attempted the truth to the two robots with disgust. "And I will get my daughter back."


	6. Chapter 5

"You're being awfully focused on the fire there.." Wheatley muttered as he watched  Chell  poke at the blaze. "Is there something wrong?"

Chell  shook her head with a light blush. The girl looked over to the man, her eyes fallowing where his attention was directed. He had lifted up his pant leg and was examining the metal of his artificial limb. He growled lightly as he attempted to move the joint in his knee, but it was stuck. "Did that happen when you kicked the wall in the cave?"

Wheatley looked up at her in surprise, dropping his pant leg back down. "Yea, don't worry about it." He laughed a little. "It's a older model, couldn't afford a new one." He patted his knee a little, his smile a little forced. "When that man said I was expensive, it was a bloody lie. All of this has been pre-owned and breaks a lot. Has to fix it myself most of the time because I can't afford repairs.." He laughed a little more, weakly. 

Chell  got up from her seat and walked over to him, patting him on the shoulder before crouching in front of him and lifting his pant leg back up. " Wh -what are you d-doing?" He stuttered, raising his arms up.

The girl ignored his protests and simply looked at the piece of machinery. With determined scowl as she reached forward and began to twist knobbed and used his stronger hand to tighten and loosen bolts. "So.. this is a little uncomfortable.. you being..  uhh  rather cryptic as you.. tinker with my leg... though I admit it is nice.. that it doesn't hurt at least.. the simulated nerves actually make it feel a bit like tickling but.." he stopped his babbling as he heard a soft hum from the smiling girl. 

" _** …...gleam and glow.. ** _ "   Chell  breathed out soothingly. Wheatley couldn't help but stare at the girl, who continued to sing softly. " _** Let my power shine... ** _ "

The man's face relaxed and he found an equally soft smile spread across his face. " _**...I will be his nurse... Let him know he is fine... ** _ "  Wheatley clutched at the log he sat upon as a small wave of pain shot through his leg. " **_ Fix this simple part... Change the old design... _ ** "  He gritted his teeth as the pain seemed to build up in his limb, just he never looked away from the girl as she worked carefully. 

" _**...Who cares for the cost... Let him know he is fine... ** _ "   Chell  breathed deeply for a moment, and turned a final bolt until it his leg made a horrid screeching noise. Wheatley's breath hitched in his throat. With one final tug, something made a click. " _**...Let him know he is fine.. ** _ "

The man looked down at his leg with wide eyes. No longer did he feel the sickening pain from mere moments before.  Chell  looked up to him with a look of concern. Wheatley stretched out his leg, bending the joint a couple of times before a look of sheer bliss fell onto his face. "Oh! This is wonderful! Fantastic!" He began his praise. He looked at the girl with a large grin. "You really are amazing!" 

Chell  smiled softly at the man as he continued to declare how smart she was for fixing his leg. A blush crept it's way onto her face as she continued to listen to his rambling. "I'm sorry if this seems out of line but.." The girl looked up at him with a raised brow, but was quickly surprised when he leaned forward and hugged her tightly. "Thank you so very much,  Chell ."

Her blush intensified on her cheeks as she reached up and patted his back lightly. Wheatley pulled away with his own blush and simply stared into her eyes. Upon realizing what he was doing, he turned his head and coughed a little before straightening himself. "So did you learn how to do that where you came from?"

Chell  relaxed against the log and found herself resting her head against the man's leg. She stared into the flickering flames before beginning. "I live with a women in that tower. Her name is  GLaDOS , and she is a very sophisticated piece of sarcastic machinery..." A smile worked it's way onto her face. "During one of my tests when I was younger, I fell into a pit and dropped my portal gun.. I was stuck and I cried for help.  GLaDOS  came to my rescue a few minutes later, telling me that I was stupid and that I should have been more careful." Her eyes drifted closed. "Though I didn't know this at the time, she was actually running to help me.. While she was lecturing me, she slipped on some propulsion gel and fell into the pit with me and broke her arm by dislodging a bolt. After she got me out of the pit, she found that she was unable to reach the broken part on her own. So without anyone else to help her, she taught me how to do it.."

Wheatley reached down with a hesitant hand and began to pet her head. "Even though she claims that I'm the one that needs her.. I can't help but feel that she's really the one that needs me... She kind of depends on me in a way, and even though she's pretty mean at times I know she doesn't mean most of it..." The man nodded. "She's like a mother to me.... and I don't want her to be alone... so..."

"So you never left before."  Wheatley looked down at her. "That's understandable... Wouldn't want my mother being alone either if I had one." 

Chell looked up to the man again with her bright eyes and grabbed his hand gently. "Don't feel bad for me though, never knew the lady. Or my father for that matter. People at the orphanage used to always tell me that my parents were killed by some Black Mesa intruders. You see, the orphanage I lived in most of my life was were they sent all the surviving kids from crimes and stuff. So every time a new kid came in, I would always feel bad for them because I knew the people that did that to them were still out there.." Wheatley's eye brows knotted together in concentration. "And so one day I just kind of decided that I wanted to do something about it. Wasn't very fit then so I didn't make it as a police officer, but I did get a spot as a detective's assistant. Once the old chap died, I got his job. Though, I'm not a very good at it.."

He laughed weakly and stood up slowly, allowing  Chell  to move out of his way. "I'm going to go get some more wood, and possible something for you to munch on. I know your probably still hungry, even more so now..." he mumbled before he began to walk away. 

"Hey Wheatley..?" The girl called out softly. The man turned around a little, the warm light of his eye making him noticeable in the darkness. "I think you're a fine detective,"  Chell  said with a smile. 

Wheatley smiled as well. "That means a lot to me.. thanks," he said a little sadly before walking off into the forest. 

Chell  couldn't fight the wide smile or the blush that crept onto her face as she sighed out. She scooted herself closer to the fire for warm, resting her head on her knees as she just stared at the flames with a dreamy look on her face. A bush not to far from her rustled a bit before two yellow lights glowed in the darkness. "So that's the moron that stole Blue's eye.."

The girl's eyes grew wide as she stumbled to her feet. " GLaDOS ..?" 

The woman barely noted the girl's presence before turning her full attention to her. "Hello Chell.." She breathed out slowly. 

Chell  walked toward the woman with caution, unsure of how  GLaDOS  was going to react to her. "How did you know where I was..?" She asked nervously, inching closer and closer to her mother figure. 

GLaDOS  merely looked at the cowering girl through a half hearted glare. "I just fallowed the sound of complete and utter betrayal." she growled through gritted teeth. "Now come along  Chell , I'm sure you're done breaking my heart."

The girl backed away slowly, shaking her head. "But  GLaDOS , don't you see? I've come all this way, I've even helped people-" 

"You mean you helped that moron. It's no surprise, a child could have helped him with something."  GLaDOS  sighed out, trying her best to sound mad at the girl before her. 

Chell  looked away from  GLaDOS  with a light blush. "I know he's not that bright, but I.. I think.. I think I really like him.."

Something in  GLaDOS  seemed to snap at that moment. " **_ Like him? Please, little  Chell , that's demented! _ ** "   Chell  began to protest but was abruptly cut off. " _** This is why you should just come back! ** _ "

GLaDOS  walked to the girl and placed her hands on her shoulders. " _** Dear, this whole romance that you've presented, just proved you're too weak to be here.. ** _ "   GLaDOS  let out another deep sigh. " _** Why do you like him? I mean, seriously? ** _ "

The woman gave a flourish to the direction the man had walked in. " _** Look at him! What makes you so impressed? ** _ "   GLaDOS  grabbed onto  Chell's  arm rather forcefully. " _** Stop being dumb, you don't need that scum..  GLaDOS ... ** _ "

"No!"  Chell  yelled as she yanked her arm away from  GLaDOS ' grip. 

GLaDOS  stared at her for moment, the emotions on her face went from shock into anger. " No?! Ha! I see how it is. _**Little**_ _** Chell  knows best, ** _ "   GLaDOS  began to walk away, only to turn back around to her. " _** Little  Chell's  so mature now, such a clever grown-up miss. ** _ "

Chell  backed away from  GLaDOS  and fell over a tree branch. " _** Little  Chell  knows best. Fine, ** _ " the woman growled out. " _** If you're so sure now,  why haven't you told him this?! ** _ "  She sneered as she yanked out a picture from her pocket. " _** This is why he's here! ** _ "

Chell  lifted herself back into a stand and backed away from  GLaDOS ' furious form again. " _** He doesn't care about you! Just tell him and watch and see! ** _ "  

The girl couldn't help but feel tears stinging at her eyes. "I will, I-"

" _** Trust me, my dear, once you're there, he'll leave you! Don't say I didn't warn you! ** _ "   GLaDOS  began to walk closer and closer to the girl. " _** No, little  Chell  knows best! If he's really not a dote, ** _ "  Even though the touch was meant to be gentle, the woman had found herself shoving  Chell  to the ground. " _** Go and put him to the test! ** _ "

That warm feeling from  GLaDOS ' chest had turned into a painful flare as she watched the tears fall from the poor girl's eyes. " _** Once your alone, don't come crying, ** _ "   GLaDOS  felt a wetness on her own face but ignored it. " _** GLaDOS  knows best! ** _ "

The girl sat on the ground, not moving from where she was shoved. Her breathing become slightly quicker as she watched  GLaDOS  disappear into the dark. Now completely alone in the dark,  Chell  let out a heart wrenching sob and tried her best to wipe her falling tears away. A couple of snapping branched caught her attention as Wheatley stumbled out from the forest to the small fire. "Hey! I got the wood like I said, but you wouldn't believe what else I found! Apples! Can you believe our  luc -"  Just as he noticed the tear streaked face of his companion on the ground, he dropped everything he held and rushed to her side. "What's wrong? What happened? Wait  wait , are you alright, should have asked that first..." He trailed off as he just stared at her. 

A  small hiccup escaped her throat as she mumbled, "I'm fine.."

Wheatley began to wipe her tears away for her. "Are you sure..?" He asked softly. She just nodded lazily into his hand while sniffling. The man sighed out and removed one of his gloves and placed it against her nose. "Go ahead and blow."

The girl did as instructed and sniffled a little after she was finished. Wheatley stood up and walked to the food he had dropped, throwing his soiled glove into the fire on his way. He scooped up as many of the apples as possible and brought them back to the girl. "Here, eat this." He requested with a soft smile. "It'll make you feel better.." 

The both of them sat in the warmth of fire,  Chell  peacefully eating apples while Wheatley's soft chatter comforted her. The girl couldn't help but lean against the larger man, who in turn wrapped an arm around her and continued to sooth her with his words.

In a tree, away from their view,  GLaDOS  sat and watched the scene before her. She was unsure of the feeling now resonating in her chest. It felt a lot like disgust but was different. She didn't know what to call it, nor did she really care for it's title. All she knew is that she hated that her  Chell  loved someone else.  


	7. Chapter 6

Wheatley sighed heavily before breathing in the scent of the moss on which he laid. Though he had actually been awake for a while, he figured he would just relax until  Chell  had woken up as well. The only problem with pretending to be asleep was that the sun made an uncomfortable orange against his eyelids. Just as he thought about this however, it grew dark. Clouds were the first thing he thought of and he smiled again, thankful for that. The warmth of heavy breathing invaded his space and caused his eyes to open slowly. 

Wheatley laid there in surprise. Staring angrily down at him was his once trusted companion.  "Rick? Look whatever I did to make you mad. I'm  sorr \- AGHH!!"

Chell  sat up abruptly as Wheatley's screams echoed through the forest. She scrambled to her feet and looked to were the man was. He was crawling on the ground, trying his best to get away from a very anger brown stallion. "Let go Let go Let go!" He cried desperately as the horse tugged violently at the man's pants. 

Chell ran over and waved her hands at the stallion to catch it's attention. Both the horse and Wheatley stopped moving at the display and simply stared dumbfounded at her. The man's face flushed when he realized that Rick had pulled his pants partially down  and struggled to pull them back up. Rick had let go of Wheatley and how boldly trotted up to the girl.

Chell  smiled at first from the way the stallion sat itself in front of her, but her smile fell quickly as the horse leaned it's head toward her and wiggled it's brow suggestively at her. Her mouth fell open at the sight as Rick attempted a husky whinny to add to his flirt. She slowly leaned to the side to catch of glimpse of a still blushing Wheatley. He seemed to know right away what was happening and scurried over to try to pull the stallion away.    "Rick!" Wheatley scolded. 

They began to fight rather comically, neither seriously trying to harm the other. After a while,  Chell  began to laugh softly at their antics before walking over to them. "You know, we still have to get to the town before dark right?" She asked through half giggles. 

Wheatley blushed deeply in embarrassment, and if Rick was capable of blushing he would have been as well. They were quick to separate themselves from each other and just looked at the girl as she stopped laughing. She settled with a soft smile as she waited for Wheatley to tell her of his latest plan for their journey. Instead, Rick trotted back up to her and eyed her weirdly. She blinked at the horse and leaned back slightly. The stallions eyes grew wide as he seemed to realize something and  Chell  grinned uneasy as she held her finger to her mouth.

Glancing to Wheatley, then back to  Chell , Rick nodded with an outmost seriousness to him. He trotted quickly to her side and lowering himself, jerking his head for her to mount him.  Chell  tried to shake her head as a gentle refusal but the stern expression on the stallion caused her to sigh in defeat as she settled herself onto his saddle. Wheatley smiled and tried to mount the horse as well but Rick grunted and bumped him away with his hip. 

They walked for a little while before Wheatley began to speak. "So, um.. why is it that you were so set and coming to see the paper thing?" 

Chell  looked down from her perch on the stallion to look at him. "I thought it'd be something fun to do for my birthday," she said a little nervously. 

Wheatley looked up to her quickly with wide eyes. "Oh! It's your birthday? Happy birthday!" He smiled brightly. 

Something ached in her chest lightly as she smiled down at him. She couldn't get over the strange feeling that she was using him to get what she wanted. She remembered back to what  GLaDOS  had told her to do.  Tell him...  Chell  looked back up to the sky ahead of her. She had figured by the collage in her bedroom that the picture of the baby was suppose to be her, but after  GLaDOS ' episode, her suspicion had been confirmed. Now she was going to the place of her birth, with a man who was a little to dense to know that the very person he was searching for was the girl he was traveling with.  Chell  looked down to her hand as it rested on the saddle of the horse. She should tell him, she thought to herself. Her brow knotted together. What if  GLaDOS  was right? What if when he found out, he dumped her at the palace and didn't take her to see the paper being scattered in the night air? If that happened, would the king even scattered the paper since she would be home? 

Her train of thought was cut off as she heard the melody of bells being chimed in the distance. She jerked her head to the direction of the sound. A grin spread across her face at the sight of a white bridge. She turned sharply on Rick's back and leaped off of him before running down the bridge eagerly.  Whealtey  yelled for her to slow down and Rick began to freak out now that she was no longer on his back. Both males made a mad dash to the running girl.

At the entrance to the city,  Chell  slowed and looked all around her with a awestruck " Woow " leaving her lungs. She started walking, trying to blend in with other people, but she was late in predicting the movements of some and bumped into them. Others looked at her in terror as she clutched her portal gun to her chest and some even yelled before getting out of her way. Wheatley, who now stood next to her, followed the panic gazes to her gun. He let out a nervous laugh, touching it carefully. "Might want me to hold onto this for a little bit, people are going to think you’re a proper maniac with this." He babbled while he slipped the device from her hands and placing it in his long forgotten bag. 

Her concern for the device was short lived as she was distracted by a soft tune. She looked around quickly, trying her best to find where the music was coming from. Giggle girls drew her attention away from her search. A softer smile replaced her grin as she watched the girl place flowers in each others' hair. Something tickled her ear for a moment before it was settled in her hair comfortably.  Chell  looked back to Wheatley quickly, taking in his own smile and soft blush. She reached up into her hair to the flower that was now rested against her ear.

Chell's  gaze wondered behind Wheatley and she was quick to investigate. Wheatley stared at her as she explored her surroundings, his blush and smile not fading in the slightest. Rick eyed him suggestively, making the man laugh nervously as he pushed the stallion away.  Upon realizing that Wheatley was not following her, she jogged back to him. Grabbing his hand, she tugged him to ran about the town with her. They looked at many different stalls. They stopped at one briefly, looking at the merchandise.  Chell  picked something up and examined it with a wide smile. 

Wheatley smiled and reached for his wallet, intending to buy it for her but was pulled again as  Chell  gasped about something else. Wheatley panted slightly as they stopped running and were now in line to buy food from one of the various stalls. He counted the money in his wallet lazily as he caught his breath.  Chell  was bored waiting in the line and was looking all around her to find something to focus on, finally spotting some more children with flowers. 

"This is for the lost princess," an older child said to a younger one as she placed a flower down in front a mosaic tile portrait of the royal family.  Chell  looked up at the piece of art and marveled  at the appearance of her family. On one end was a small and timid looking man with a shy smile. The opposite end stood a rather bold looking man with a wide grin, and his hands connected to the shoulders of a women who stood in the middle of the picture.  Chell's  eyes widened at surprise. The women in the middle of the picture looked almost identical to  GLaDOS , with minor differences such as skin and eye color. 

More of the festive music began to fill the air as some musicians began to walk passed  Chell . Her attention stolen once again as she fallowed the noise. Wheatley, having paid for their food, looked around in alarm as he noticed she was gone once again. Relief flooded him as he found her standing outside of a small group of people. His height allowed him to see people dancing in the middle of the square. He smiled warmly as  Chell  looked in awe at the activity. 

Placing the food in his bag, he slug it around Rick for safe keeping. Chell looked to Wheatley, she smiled as he comically bowed to her and held out his hand. She took it, unsure of what he was about to do. An excited gasp left her as he pulled her into the dancing crowd and swept away by other people passing her along. 

Their day had been full of activities that amazed  Chell . Wheatley had bought her a small flag with the kingdom symbol, which she was delighted to see that each flag was identical. The girl was invited by children to draw with chalk on the ground, another activity  Chell  had never experienced but Wheatley was happy to help her with her messy drawing. Later, they had played a rather amusing game of hide-and-seek with an overprotective Rick that lead them crammed together in a small alleyway. They stared at each other as their silent giggles died down, but  Chell  was quick to be distracted by something new and lead her companion to their next destination. Wheatley lead her to a library and introduced her to folklore. She was delighted by the stories and pointed and asked questions about the characters, though it took Wheatley a little time to explain that these people were fictional. Despite the enormous amounts of fun the both of them had they day, they silently agreed that the best part was when the crowd finally allowed them to dance together. 

"It's time!" 

Wheatley lead Chell to a small gondola, taking her hand as she stepped onto it with caution. After she was safely settled onto the wooden seat, Wheatley began to row it slowly. The girl couldn't help but look around at her surroundings, slight fear in her face of the water around her. "I won't let you fall in," came Wheatley's reassurance.

Chell  calmed herself a little, breathing deeply before asking, "Where are we going?"

She locked eyes with Wheatley as he smiled a little sheepishly. "Well, I'd figure since you've wanted to see this so badly that it's be a nice thought if you wouldn't be able to miss it since all those building obstruct the view.." he trailed off as he realized the distant look in his companion's eyes as she looked off toward the sunset. "Are you feeling alright there? Are you seasick? Should have asked that before we got on the boat, huh?"

Chell  blinked a couple of times, glancing at the rambling redhead. "I'm just... scared.." she breathed out before looking back to the sky. 

"Scared?" He asked with a heavy amount of concern.  Chell  nodded slowly. "All these years, I've been collecting those pictures. I've always dreamed of what it must be like to see them scattered and blowing in the wind.... But now, I wonder what if it's not as great as I've imagined it to be? What if-"

"It's going to be as great as you want it to be." Wheatley interrupted.  Chell  looked directly to the man now. "What if it's not?"

He smiled. "The only reason it wouldn't be would be because you didn't believe." 

Chell  smiled sadly to him. "What do I do if it is great? What do I do after this?" She watched as he shyly reached forward and took her hand, squeezing it softly. "Well, you'll be able to come up with a new dream.. And as long as you want me to, I'll always be there to help you get it.."

0R0R0R0R0R0R0R0

Inside of the palace, the King sighed heavily. He slowly lifted his skinny body from his throne and walked down the steps. His footsteps echoed throughout the empty castle as he made his way to his chambers. Never straying his eyes, he ignored the paintings of his long lost family. His deceased uncle, the aunt he lost to that wretched machine, and the cousin he may never see again. 

He hated to think that his plan had been in vain, but it was a very sad truth that the monster that had taken the young princess had probably killed her as well. He was brought to tears by those thoughts, but in the back of his mind he knew that reminds of his kind aunt still remained, if only slightly. Finally having reached his room, he pushed the doors open. He dropped his crown onto the ground and shrugged the ridiculous royal cape off as well. Running a shaky hand through his wild hair, the king wondered to a cart. Lazily he pushed it to the balcony, the boxes of paper jarring only slightly from the motion. 

He looked to the sky, waiting patiently as the last bits of sunshine where gone. Now standing under blinking stars, the man opened the first of many boxes and proceeded to toss the sparkling pages into the night air. 

0CW0CW0CW0CW0

Chell  way almost laying in the boat, lazily splashing the water. A ripple from the opposite direction of her splashing drew her eyes to it's source. There sat one of many papers to come, the rest were reflected from the waters surface. 

_**All those days, wishing I could see this....**_   She looked up to the sky, watching in awe at the pages fluttering in the wind.  _** All those years, outside looking in... ** _

She picked herself up as more papers glittered oddly in the air. She scrambled to the other end of the boat to look out at them as they flew away.  **_All that time, never even knowing just how trapped I've been..._**   A  gentle smile played at her features. _** Now I'm here, blinking in the moonlight..  ** _ She sighed at the sight as millions of pages danced in front of her eyes. _** Now I'm here, finally I see... ** _

An even more delighted smile spread onto her face as she realized that even all the other boats had been throwing pages into the air as well. _**Standing here, it's all too clear... I'm where I'm meant to be..**_   She hugged the neck of the gondola and rested her head against it.  **_ And at last I see the light, and it's like a fog has lifted... _ **

She lifted her head to look as pages fluttered so close to her, yet never touched her.  _**And at last I see the light.. and everything seems brand new....**_   Her gaze slowly drifted to the source of the pages.  _** And I feel warm from this sight.. and my world has somehow shifted... ** _

A soft and tender feeling tugged at her chest.  _** All at once... everything looks different..  ** _ The tender feeling spread to her face as a deep blush as she looked at Wheatley, who smiled softly to her.  _** Now that I see you... ** _

Chell  smiled back to him, taking in his own blush. He broke eye contact with her to reach into his bag. "Come over here for a minute, I got something for  ya '."  Chell  obeyed without question of what he was doing. She leaned over him, peering at what he was pulling out of his bag. "Thought you might want to participate," he said with a shrug as he handed a large stack of papers to the girl. 

Chell  was unable to hold back her wide grin as she took the papers from him, her hands briefly sliding against his. "Thank you, Wheatley. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't met you." Just as the girl turned away from him, Wheatley's blush intensified as he watched her throw pages into the sky.

**_ All those days, wanting just a daydream... Wanting something like this to occur....  _ ** He couldn't help as he watched the paper dance all around the girl. _**All that time, never truly seeing... she was waiting there...**_   He places comforting hands on her shoulders as she leaned into the water to pick up the flower that had dropped from her hair. 

_**Now she's here, glowing in the moonlight...**_   He took the flower from her and placed it next to him for it to dry off. _**Now she's here, finally I know....**_   Chell  sat herself across from him, still looking all around at the scene that played before them.  _**If she's here, I want to cheer...**_   Slowly he took the girl's hand, her face illuminated by the soft blue of his mechanical eye.  _** I'm where I'm meant to go... ** _

They both look to each other with soft smiles. " _** And at last I see the light... ** _ "  They sung together in harmony. " _** And it's like some fog has lifted... ** _ "  Wheatley smooth voice widen her smile. " _** And at last I see the light... ** _ "  They breathed out together again. " _** And my sky seems brand new... ** _ "  Chell  cut in. 

" _** And I feel warm from this sight.. and my world has somehow shifted... ** _ " Wheatley gently tucked some of the girl's hair behind her ear, settling it to cup her face. " _** All at once... everything looks different... ** _ " Neither of them seemed to realize that they had been leaning into each other. The both began to close their eyes as the sounds of fluttering pages slowly drifted away from them. " _** Now that I...  seee ...  youuu ... ** _ " 

Soft smiles continued to play at their lips as they looked in wonder to each other through half lidded eyes. " _** Now that I..  seee ..  yoouu .. ** _ " Their harmonious song closed slowly, as did the remaining space between them as they kissed gently.  


	8. Chapter 7

Their kiss had only lasted moments. Both parties sat with blushing faces and Wheatley held a loopy kind of smile.  Chell , however,  figeted  uneasily in her seat on the boat. "What's wrong, love..?" he breathed out slowly, rubbing his thumb in circles over the back of her hand. 

Chell  bit her lip softly and looked to her concerned companion with her own worrying look. "I've kind of been... keeping a secret from you..." All movement from the man stopped as his brow drew up in confusion. "I'm the lost princess, Wheatley..." 

No ramble erupted from the man, no visible reaction either. He's face softened and almost looked sad. His hand slowly slid away from  Chell's  as he straightened his back. He slowly began to row the boat toward the shore as he spoke uncharacteristically soft. "Well, you must be excited to finally going home..."

The silence was tense and awkward the rest of the way to the docks.  Chell  hugged herself uneasily in the night air, looking to Wheatley for any hint of the previous warmth he once displayed toward her. Instead his gaze was cold, not even looking at her. Insecurity settled in her gut, causing her to hug herself tighter. 

Wheatley had helped her off of the gondola and assisted her in mounting the waiting stallion.  Chell  looked down to the man that guided the horse through the town. He reached into his pants and pulled out a small leather holder, flipping it over to show his badge. People looked in wonder to him, clearing themselves from in front of him so that Rick could pass with their long awaited princess. All the witnessing townspeople seemed to understand who she was right away and bowed deeply as she passed. 

Chell  thought when she was revealed as the princess that it would be happy and joyous like the earlier festivities, not the sad and dark parade toward her palace. No one smiled, no one cheered. People that she had already passed slowly followed her on her journey.  Chell  looked back down to Wheatley, hoping for the shy smile from before but was only met with his indifferent gaze as he stared ahead. 

No one in the palace seemed to believe that their princess had returned. Guards stood with gaped mouths as the horse was lead into the throne room. Wheatley helped the girl down from Rick but didn't keep his contact with her. Both Rick and Wheatley stood back as the king bounded into the room. His breathing uneven and his eyes wide in shock as he stared at his long lost cousin. " Chell ..." He choked out as he scooped her lithe body into a tight hug. "You're alive.. you're alive.." he cried against her shoulder.

After several minutes, she was finally released. Laughter erupted from the king as he began to ramble incoherently about how much things would change now that  Chell  had returned. The girl rubbed her arms gently as she watched the mad king walk away from her. Her eyes slowly trailed over to Wheatley, who stood silently in the back of the room. "Thank you..." She said slowly.

"Your welcome, your majesty."

Chell  winced at his tone. "You know, I'm still  Chell .." she began. "I'm still the same person from before.."

"I know" A small look of pain crossed his face.  Chell  stepped to him, reaching for his hand hesitantly. "We can still-"

"No we can't." Wheatley took a step back away from her. "You might not understand this yet, but I'm not allowed to see you again. I'm a commoner. You may be the same person but no one else is going to care about that. You’re a princess and I-" His face fell, his voice going quiet. "I shouldn't have kissed you.. I'm sorry..." 

Wheatley grabbed the reigns of his stallion and reared it to turn around. "Forget about me  Chell ...." Her breath hitched, and her eyes burned as the man began to walk away.

She didn't know what she was suppose to do about something like this. The guards had led her to her new room, then left her. Even the king had only been with her for a moment, long enough to place a glittering crown on her head before leaving. Completely alone,  Chell  fell to the ground. 

0W0W0W0W0W0

"I'm a moron..." Wheatley muttered aloud. Rick made no correction to the depressed man who continued to talk. "Bloody hell, Rick..." he groaned a little. "I really  really  liked her too... and then she had to be the bloody princess..."

The man's hands let the stallions reigns go and buried his face in his hands. Rick stopped and looked back to his friend. "I wanted to be with her..." Wheatley muttered through shaky shoulders. "I- I knew I didn't stand a chance even before but now... Oh, with her being so pretty.. so beautiful... Princes and  ari \- aristocrats and other fancy rich..." He rubbed tears from his cheek as he gritted his teeth to hold back a sob. "What was I.. even thinking when I kissed her..?"

A small sob finally broke it’s way from his throat as Wheatley continued to rack his brain. He liked her. Hell, he would go as far as to say he loved her despite the amount of time they've known each other. Then she had to ruin it by telling him that she was the princess. Now he knew that even the slim chance that a moron such as himself could ever successful court and marry a girl like  Chell  was completely out of the question. It's been a law in the kingdom, as much as any kingdom, that commoners and royalty simple didn't co-exist, let alone have romantic relations. 

The sheer thought of all this, however, wasn't what was bringing the poor man to tears. He was happy for  Chell , she finally had a family, however small. She had all the money she would ever need and she had millions of servants to do with as she pleased. Soon, she would have friends like her, rich and royal. Then, the thought that shattered any good feeling toward the situation arose.  Chell  would met new men, better men, and would forget him like he told her to. 

A sensible thing to do, his mind told him, would be to forget about her as well. Yet the sharp pain in his chest reminded him that doing so would be impossible.

Rick trotted behind that man and nudged him toward a store front. " Wha -what are you..." Wheatley's breath hitched as he saw what kind of store he was pushed in front of. "But, I can't!" He looked to Rick through watery eyes. "I'm not like her, I can't. I-" Rick gestured to the window again. "Well, if I did do that I would be but..." 

He wiped some of wetness from his eyes as he looked at the white garments behind the glass. "Would she want to-" Rick snorted and made a crude kissy face to the man. Wheatley blushed deeply, looking away from the stallion to the marvelous palace in the distance. 

0C0C0C0C0C0C0C0

Chell  looked down at the things she had received that day. A broken piece of chalk that a child told her to keep so she could draw where ever she went. A coupon a vendor gave her, claiming it would reduce the price of what she bought next. A card that a librarian gave her so she could take books from the building. The crown the king had given her as proof of her royalty. Lastly, the small flag Wheatley had bought her as a memento to the fun they had together. 

She should have listened, she thought to herself.  GLaDOS  was right, he left her there by herself. Alone. Her brow knitted together and her eyes stung at the thought. She trusted him enough to guide her to the city, trusted him enough let her guard down around him, trusted him enough to kiss him back on the gondola. She covered her mouth as she swatted the items away from her.

Chell  frowned heavily as her eyes drifted back to the flag. Her heart ached painfully as images of the man's shy smile crept into her mind. His accented voice offering her protection from the water, the warm glow of his artificial eye, the warmth of his body as he hugged her by the fire. She found herself hugging the small flag to her chest. She shouldn't miss him as much as she did, but should couldn't help it. She was lonely and wanted so desperately to see him.

Suddenly, a weak breeze lifted the curtains to her balcony and a familiar yellow shone through before it was covered again by the fabric. " GLaDOS ..?"  Chell  whispered out. 

"Yes, I'm here." A voice replied from outside. 

The girl lifted herself onto wobbly legs and stepped toward the window, kicking her crown on her way. "Why are you here..?" she asked quietly again.  No answer came, even after she pushed passed the curtains to view the brunette android sitting on the railing of the balcony.  GLaDOS  let out a sigh as she slipped off the railing to stand in front of the girl. "I suppose we could just stand here, staring at each other until-"

Chell  gripped the woman in a tight embrace and cried softly.  GLaDOS  looked down at the girl, the warmth in her chest returning. Another sigh passed her lips, this one softer, as she patted  Chell's  back gently. "Please..." the girl mumbled through weak sobs. "Take me home..." 

The irritating warmth spread to more of  GLaDOS ' body as she stared down at her adoptive child. The once strong and mature girl was now reduced to a weak, sobbing, heartbroken thing. Her brow knitted together in pity for  Chell , her pats becoming a firm hug. Any snarky remark she had for the situation died in her throat and became a soothing hum.

0W0W0W0W0W0W0

Wheatley found himself running toward the giant castle, his speed faltering ever now and again as his more powerful robotic leg seemed to hit the concert harder then the other. Rick galloped next to the man, half attempting to bring the man onto his back. Wheatley didn't seem to notice, all he wanted was to get to the palace, get to her. "This is p-probably a terrible idea..!" he gasped out.  Rick whinnied out a laugh, pacing himself to gallop next to the man. 

Both of them slid to a halt as palace guards stopped them. "Detective?" one asked lazily. 

"Let me in there! Quick! I got to ask  Chell -"

"Wow  wow wow , cool it there sparky. King has made strict orders that no one is allowed to see the princess until she is familiar with the castle," the guard waved to him. "And, even after that, you're not going to be getting in there anyway. His majesty said he will send your payment to you. People like you have no business in-"

Wheatley growled out in frustration. "I need to see her!" he shouted to the guards. "I... I love her..." he breathed out slowly. 

The other men looked to each other for a moment, before bursting out in laughter. "So does everyone else that seen her today buddy." Wheatley gritted his teeth as he was pushed back gently. "Forget it kid-"

Wheatley fumbled into his bag for a moment before he pulled out  Chell's  portal gun, aiming it at them. Both guards back away instantly. The man pointed the gun away before fumbling with it's triggers, managing to successfully launch a blue portal onto a balcony wall. He grinned in triumph before pulling the trigger a second time, causing him to fall into the orange portal and onto his destination. 

A gust of wind blew the curtains of the window inward, signaling to Wheatley that it was open. He walked into the room with caution, unsure if it was the right place. The sight that met him tugged violently at his heart. Sat against a far wall was the king, who stared into a small pile of things in the middle of the room. "You're late..." he said hoarsely. 

Wheatley's eyes widen as he recognized the things skewed a crossed the floor. Each item was something that  Chell  had received that day. "She left..." the king muttered again. "She seemed so hurt and confused as I saw her..."

Nothing was out of place in the room, no sign of struggle evident in his surroundings. Wheatley mused that the girl had left on her own accord. He walked a little closer to the items on the ground. The chalk, the coupon, the library card, the crown... His brow came together in mild confusion. The flag was missing.

For the first time in his entire pathetic life, his brain seemed it wanted to work quickly. Realization dawned on him as he stared down to her portal device. It was his fault that she was gone, that was the only explanation. _  Forget about me,  Chell ... _  His free hand slowly slid up his chest, resting above his heart. She wasn't going to forget about him if she took the flag. Wheatley looked back to the window. He imagined how she must have felt, his brain seemed to be working in over time. Her only friend left her alone in a big and unfamiliar place, expecting her to be fine on her own. He would have left to, he thought. Would go somewhere where he felt safe...

Wheatley squeezed the portal gun, dropping his other hand to cradle it. Slow steps turned into a light jog as he began his journey back to her tower.    


	9. Chapter 8

Wheatley grew more confident as he stepped through his portals for the second time. He was greeted by the determined stare of his stallion, who seemed to know the man's course of action. He ran to Rick and flung himself onto the stallion with a surprising amount of grace before rearing the horse to speed off toward the forest. "I have no plan at this point..." Wheatley muttered to his companion. "But that hardly seems like it should matter now..."

0CG0CG0CG0CG0CG0

GLaDOS  pulled the last picture from the wall in  Chell's  room and placed it neatly in the stack she held in her other hand. The girl didn't even observe her mother figure as she took away her only things from the outside. The tanned walls seemed strangely barren without the scribbles and blobs tapped and pinned across the room.  GLaDOS  looked to  Chell , who laid on her bed staring blankly up to her ceiling. Something drew her attention to her mother figure, her eyes slowly shifting to the woman. "I'm really a princess, huh..."  GLaDOS  could tell from the tone of the young girl's voice that it was a statement rather than a question.

"Yes." Was  GLaDOS  reply as she walked closer to the girl. "You're birth parents were the previous rulers of Aperture."

Chell's  blank expression never changed as she spoke. "You look like my mother."

The woman's glare was directed to some distant place, as if a memory. "I was suppose to be your mother. The people who created me were idiots and never counted on their creation being sentient without a personality installed."

"You deleted her..."

GLaDOS ' cold yellow eyes shifted slowly to the girl. "Yes." She said with a foreign softness. 

Chell  slowly lifted herself into a sitting position on her mattress before looking at  GLaDOS  again. "Why did you take me from there?"

If the girl were paying attention to her caregiver's expression, she would have seen the slight surprise in the woman's face before it was masked in her normal cold demeanor.  GLaDOS  edged slowly to the door to the door, making her exit. "I have an infinite capacity for knowledge, and even I am unsure of how to answer that question..."

Chell  fell back onto her mattress again to stare at her ceiling, willing the memories of the day to leave her mind. Flashes of the dorky smiling man kept flooding her thoughts. Her expression remained blank as tears pooled into her eyes. The girl glanced down to her hand as it slowly unclenched, showing the tear blurred image of a silver piece of fabric. Her brows knitted together in a glare as her fist slowly balled up again, suffocated the small flag once more.

0W0W0W0W0W0W0

The stallion raced through the greenery of the forest as fast as his hooves would allow. Wheatley's determined gaze shifted quickly through the trees, cautiously looking for any red lasers. His confidence surged forth again as he noticed deactivated turrets sticking out from behind bushing and trees. His eyes drifted to the path that his stead had chosen before Rick reared up and kicked his front hooves in an attempt to stop. Wheatley fell from the saddle with a startled yelp to accompany Rick's distressed whinny. Mechanical laughter greeted the man's ears as he scrambled to his feet to see who had stopped them.

Wheatley was greeted by two teens cradling their own portal guns. P-Body grinned deviously as she giggled, while Atlas stood next to her with a venomous glare directed to Wheatley. The shorter teen seemed ready fling himself at the older man, but the girl held her arm out to stop him. " Atlas wants to hurt you for what you did, and to be honest I want to punish you for hurting him as well. "  

Wheatley took a step back, gripping his weapon tightly. " But we have to keep to our objective.. " P-Body looked to the growling boy next to her. " It's just a coincidence that our objective is to keep you away. By any means necessary. "

0CG0CG0CG0CG0CG0CG0

Chell  laid in her bed, completely still except for the soft raise and fall of her chest as she breathed. She glanced to her door as she heard  GLaDOS ' foot steps shuffle outside of her room. Before she had the chance to look away, the door creaked open slowly as  GLaDOS ' back nudged it's way into her room. "This isn't encouraging you to add to your... generous.. ness..." 

Chell  sat up quickly as  GLaDOS ' turned around to reveal a perfectly round cake adorned with frosting and flickering candles. Her mouth slowly dropped open at the sight of the treat in front of her. "And if you expect me to sing to you then you really are a lunatic.." The woman let a soft smile slip onto her face as she settled the cake on the bed. 

GLaDOS  sat next to the cake and began to carefully cut slices, successfully managing to keep the girl's bed clean of moist crumbs. She glanced up to  Chell , taking in the slow change in her face. Her face went from extreme shock to a sad frown before tears rimmed her eyes once again. Any snarky comment that the woman wanted to say was dispelled before it could even surface in her mind as  Chell  pulled her into a tight hug. The embrace was not returned as  GLaDOS  just stared at the cake slice that was now skewed over the floor. 

The woman reached up and pushed Chell away gently, allowing the girl to slide her arms away on her own. Chell looked up to GLaDOS' troubled expression with her own look of concern. The woman simply stood without a noise and walked out of the room. The girl couldn't help but smile as she looked back to her cake. Unknown to Chell, the woman stood pressed against the door of the bedroom. 

</ ENTER COMMAND PROMPT ;/

Delete file name "Caroline" ;//

FILE NAME "CAROLINE" DOES NOT EXIST ;/>

GLaDOS  glared at the command prompt that continued to flash before her eyes. Her teeth gritted as she continued her attempt to delete the former queen.  She refused to accept that the child's mother no longer existed, because if she did...  GLaDOS ' eyebrows drew themselves downward. Her legs seemed to move on their own as she walked to the window slowly, glaring out into the darkness. If she was to admit she loved her adoptive child, then that child would never leave again. 

0WAP0WAP0WAP0WAP0

Wheatley stood his ground defensively as the teens took their steps forward. "Look.." he began. "I don't know what you guys mean, but I never hurt that kid! I just did my job, it's not my fault!" His voice broke with a tremor as the glares of the teens intensified. "They wanted you, not me! Whatever caused you guys to be criminals is your own fault, I-"

" SHUT UP! " Atlas yelled through his single eyed glare. P-Body glanced to him, whispering hushed comforts. " No! " He gave the girl a light push. " I don't care if he's not that one that did it! It's his fault they got ahold of me! "

Wheatley took a step back, unsure of what the boy was about to do. " Maybe he doesn't know what they did! "  P-Body said quickly. " Atlas, I told you we should have gone after the guards for what happened, not- "

" Oh, I plan to.. " The boy growled with a smile. 

Suddenly he broke out into a run, before tackling Wheatley to the ground. He began to struggle under the weight of the mechanical body of the boy. His own robotic arm was pinned under one of Atlas' feet, rendering his weapon useless. The boy smiled evilly as he raised his empty fist into the air. Wheatley braced himself as he continued to struggle against the boy, but he was never hit. Instead the weight of the android was slowly lifted from his body. 

Wheatley's eyes snapped open in time to see the board figure hovering over him tossing Atlas. "Why are you on the ground? Did he knock you over? Was he heavy?" Blue eyes looked over to the bright amber that covered on his other side. "Are you getting up yet? Is that horse yours? Is he taking you to that girl?" 

Curi  stepped back as Wheatley pulled himself to his feet. "Thanks.." he said to the dark haired man. Red eyes looked back to him and a devious smirk spread across Anger's face. "Not doing this for you." He stated bluntly. "These brats just owe me a piano.." he growled, turning back to the teens. 

Wheatley dashed to Rick quickly, mounting just in time to see a bottle rocket launch toward the vengeful androids. "I-I'm a s-space cop! Ha  ha !" The man waved to his three saviors before the stallion began to race off deeper into the forest. 

Rick was quick to find the hidden tower. Wheatley dismounted as quickly as he can and began to shout, "CHELL! CHELL!"  He waited for a response, staring wide eyed to the open window. After their was no response, he fumbled with the portal gun. Two portals later, he fell into  Chell's  room for the second time. " Chell ! I'm sorry, I-" he stopped abruptly at the sight of the glaring woman in front of him. 

"Oh look whose here..."  GLaDOS  said quietly. "You should just leave, she hates you."

Wheatley's eyes drifted upward to  Chell , who stood in the doorway of another room. A look of pain on her face as she clenched her fist to her side. A small sliver of silver showing through her fingers. "No she doesn’t..." he breathed out hopefully. He took a single step forward.

"Look, I know I left.." he started. "And I shouldn't have... But I love you,  Chell ! I do!"

GLaDOS  looked to the girl, who just shook her head. "And I want us to be together, please!" Wheatley begged.  Chell  took a step back as he stepped forward again. 

"Look  moron,  she doesn't-"

"SHUT UP, I'M NOT A MORON!" His shout cause  Chell  to jump in surprise, bringing her attention back to him immediately. 

" Chell , Marry me."

The room was silent for a long moment, no one daring to even move. Everyone just stared at the man who stood at the window. Finally,  Chell  said in a barely audible whisper. "What...?"

Wheatley breathed a shaky breath before continuing. "Marry me,  Chell ." Slowly,  GLaDOS ' shock wore off and a glare steadily took it's place. "If we were married, we can be together. It wouldn't matter if you were the princess because I would be your prince. I would always be there and no one would be able to take me away from you. I love you  Chell , so.. please, won't you..." he reached his hand toward her slowly, his face anxious. "Be my bride...?"

GLaDOS  looked to  Chell  quickly, taking in the shocked form of her child. The girl had lifted her hands to her mouth to cover her agape expression, a bright blush seeping onto her face along with the tears in her eyes. The silence between them made  GLaDOS  smirk a little, of course there was no way the girl would agree to something like  thi \- "Yes..."

The word was small and shook with the girl as she said it with an even smaller smile spreading across her mouth.  GLaDOS ' smirk fell away and she growled. "NO!" She snapped. "I won't let you!"  

She began toward the man. "There is no way that a moron like you could ever be good enough for her!" she growled. Wheatley took a step back from the enraged woman. "Do you honestly think she loves you? She hasn't been in contact with any other man except you so it's entirely her hormones. She doesn't love you, no one could ever love a moron like you!" 

Just as she was about to shove Wheatley through the open window, a small purple blur flew into the room sending her into a panic as it began to peak at her. "Bird! Bird!" she cried out as Mora continued to her attack. Wheatley stepped out of the way of the flailing woman as she desperately tried to knock the bird away. Both the man and the girl let out a gasp as  GLaDOS  stepped back and fell through the window.

She would have fallen if it wasn't for Wheatley catching ahold of her arm. She stared wide eyed up at the man she hated.  GLaDOS  dangled helplessly, glancing back to the ground and to the man. "I got you, don't worry..." he said with a smile. Wheatley tried pulling her up, but her android body was too heavy for even his mechanical arm. Gears whirled loudly as he strained his arm to try to pull the woman. 

"You little idiot, let go.." she huffed in annoyance, knowing fully well that a fall from this height wouldn’t harm her. A bolt dropped out from under the man's sleeve as he continued to pull at her arm. He growled, pointing the portal gun out of the window. "What do you think you're doing? Whatever it is, stop it.." she said. "Just let go."

He fired one portal before the wires and metal connections in his arm tore free, dropping the woman. She fell into a portal and was flung out from another that launched her straight into the forest. "Luckily her fall was cushioned by all the tree-"  Wheatley's face paled. "Oh god! Why did I think that was a good idea?!" he began before  Chell's  hand was placed gently on his shoulder.

He looked up to her smiling face, "She'll be fine." Wheatley smiled back at her, raising to his feet and sweeping her into his arm. Breathing deeply into the embrace, he muttered how much he missed her. She laughed a little, returning his embrace.

They pulled back to look at each other,  Chell's  face now serious. "Did you mean it..?" she asked quietly. "Do you really want me to.."

Without an sound, the normal chatterbox merely kissed the princess deeply for his answer.


	10. Epilogue

Chell's  second meeting with the king ending in another tight embrace, which she had dragged Wheatley into. After the official news of her return for the second time spread across the kingdom, the people rejoiced and celebrated, for this princess was kinder then their lost queen and far less insane then their current (and previous) king. The parties lasted even longer when they had been informed that their would also gain a prince, news that ultimately lead to the breaking of the social barrier. 

Anger finally became got to preform in front of a live audience for serious pay, and has even been hired to preform at the royal wedding. Due to his rewiring at the hands of  GLaDOS , Space was able to get passed his constant space obsession and became  Curi's  boyfriend. She is still thrilled about it, and he is still crazy about space.. and his new girlfriend. 

Atlas and P-Body paid for all the damages to the Cuddly Kitten in the form of manual labor. Atlas got over his hatred for Wheatley when he was given a new eye for the one Wheatley had caused him to loose. P-Body never changed, and still supports Atlas on whatever he dreams of. Rick conveyed that the kingdom needed more adventure, and thus was put in charge of a special unit that explored new areas around the kingdom. Mora still visits  Chell  when she needs advice, which is less often but still very needed.

Chell  spun around the throne room, marveling at all the decorations set in place for the wedding that was soon to come. She laughed a little as she reached up and adjusted her crown on her head before looking to Wheatley. The man sat in his new throne chair, chattering uneasily at the men before him. One was by his side, tinkering with his new arm. The other man was standing besides him, measuring his head for the creation of a new crown. "You know, being big headed.. that's entirely just.. a saying.. Like a metaphor for- for being, like a egotistic-  er .. person," he babbled to the man, who just nodded.

Chell  giggled again as the people walked away from the man, marking their papers for any changes that occurred. Both of them stopped and looked at the princess with looks of exasperation. She smiled and waved them off, as she began toward her fiancé. The sight of his lovely bride made him smile warmly to her. Wheatley stood and walked down the small steps from his chair to take her hands in his, the robotic hand still slow and twitchy. 

The large doors to the throne room swung open and banged against the walls loudly, drawing the attention of the two inhabitants.  Chell  was the first to make a move at the sight of the figure. She drew her arms up and stared in shock as the shadowed figure came into focus. Wheatley glared and attempted to move in front of the girl, but she held him in place. 

The footsteps of a once great woman sounded small and frail against the marble floors of the palace. She was beaten and broken. The once smooth silver of her synthetic skin now dirtied and torn, showing through at certain points on her body to display the inner workings of pneumatic and hydraulic equipment that operated her. The clothes that  Chell  had once admired were mere rags and tattered forms of their former glory. Her hair was knotted and tangled with stray leaves and other debris caught in the brunette locks. One of her stunning yellow eyes had been shattered and now only glowed dimly. 

The steps continued to sound as she made her way to the center of the room. A large peach colored bag swayed with her body from each step. She never looked to the man that was on edge, only looking to the girl who stared back at her. Her head was held high in a prideful way she would never replace, even as her steps became shorter. A dull grinding noise sounded through the silence and  GLaDOS  fell to the ground.

Despite Wheatley's protest,  Chell  raced to her parental figure. She dropped to her knees and tried in vain to lift the heavy android.  GLaDOS  propped herself up on her elbows and looked to the girl with her classic scowl. Her one arm struggled to reach out to the princess, dragging the peach bag. "I still don't support this marriage." She stated bitterly as  Chell  took the bag from her grip.

GLaDOS  adverted her gaze while  Chell  pulled out the contents of the bag. She held the white fabric of the stunning wedding gown with care, as if it could disappear from her grasp. Tears welled in her eyes and a smile spread across her face as she leaned forward and embraced her mother tightly. "Thank you.."

And they all lived... ha ppily.. ever... after...

The End  


End file.
